


LIBRARY OF CONGRESS. # 



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I UNITED STATES OP AMERICA. J | 



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MAHlLASr IPA(&]B. 




Here, a child. I sinned and strayed: 
Here, the Sariour disobeyed: 
Heralfelt Ins chast'ning rod: 
IIpto.I Iritst. relui'iied to God. 



Imp 



an Album, pa.<s e 169. 



MEMOIR 



fft % 



Power of Prayer' and Personal Effort for the Souls 



INDIVIDUALS. 



vL 



BY WILLIAM A. HALLOCK, 

Corresponding Secretary of the American Tract Society* 



NEW- YORK: 

PUBLISHED BY LEAVITT, LORD, & CO. 
180 Broadway. 

BOSTON — CROCKER & BREWSTER, 
47 Washington-street. 



1836. 







Entered, according to Act of Congress, April 27, 1835, by 
William A. Hallock, in the Clerk's office of the District 
Court of the Southern District of New- York. 



CONTENTS 



CHAP. I. — Introductory. — Importance of personal effort and prayef 
for individuals— Christian influence not brought into contact with men — 
a principle of the Divine economy — inculcated by Christ and the Apos- 
tles, and by examples of eminent Christians— object of this memoir, 9 

CHAP. IT. — Five years' residence in his native place from thb 
time or his conversion. — His birth — marriage — conversion — appeal to 
a hardened sinner — severe illness — letters to an awakened sinner — her 
conversion— directions for christian duty — letter to one in affliction— vari- 
ous efforts — reflections on a Sabbath — letter to a young man — resolutions 
to be active — evidences of good— conversion of the young man above ad- 
dressed — letter to an impenitent acquaintance — warning to a young lady 
against enticing company — laments his deadness in religion — letter to an 
impenitent relative — letter from an awakened sinner— his reply— new re- 
solution to be faithful — several awakened — solemn appeal to the impeni- 
tent printed as cards — letter to a late pupil — letter from one awakened, 
and reply— letter to a cousin in the state of New York— his conversion, 14 

CHAP. IU. — Residence of two months in Boston, and nearly 
three years in Coventry. — Letters from Boston — visits churches and 
Sabbath schools there — church music — Rev. Levi Parsons — monthly con- 
cert — death-bed of a Universalis! — settlement of a pastor in Coventry— 



4 CONTENTS. 

laments his want of spirituality — interesting visit in a revival of religion 
— work of grace in Coventry— letter to one persisting in sin — to an es- 
teemed friend not pious — to a young lady — motives to early piety— letter 
to a young convert — extensive revivals — letter to a young lady, and reply 
— letter to a relative — letter to an " almost Christian," • .54 

CHAP. IV. — Residence of two months in Jewett City, and eigh- 
teen months in Coventry. — Journey to Jewett City — efforts in a family 
and factory on the way — visit to a school-house — sense of responsibility — 
commences a prayer-meeting on Wednesday evenings and on Sabbath 
mornings at sunrise — visit to a sick man — efforts for thoughtless youth- 
monthly concert — questions his motives — Sabbath school gathered — 
prayer-meeting of teachers — increase of Sabbath school — several seri 
ously impressed — conversions — letter to a gentleman — books lent — sum- 
mary view of his usefulness in Jewett City — compelled by ill health to 
return to Coventry — unable to converse, but writes to one resisting the 
Spirit — narrative of conversation with a young lady on dancing, &c. — her 
conversion — letter to a young lady on professing Christ — to a young lady 
on the death of a friend — to a young gentleman — a desperate effort for 
one who still delayed repentance — outpouring of the Spirit — his abun- 
dant labors — testimonies to his fidelity, 79 

I 

CHAP. V.— His narrative of Thomas Hamitah Patoo, a native of 
the Marquesas Islands, hopefully brought to Christ in Coventry. 
— Thomas steals away from his father and embarks in an American ship 
— is found in Boston by a benevolent individual and placed in Coventry — 
becomes anxious for his soul — his conversion, as narrated by himself— his 
anxiety for the impenitent — urgent entreaties to a delaying sinner — and 
to one now in the ministry — Mr. Page accompanies him to the Foreign 
Mission school in Cornwall— his letter to Mr. Page — death, . . 108 



CONTENTS. 5 

CHAP. VI. — Close of his labors in Coventry. — Severe sickness — 
engages in engraving — letter describing the Missionary museum at Ando- 
ver — to a young lady — to one who had given up her hope — testimony of 
his pastor and other individuals — gratifying results — faithful efforts being 
by some perverted no valid objection, ....... 120 

CHAP. VII. — From the time of his connection with the Ameri- 
can Tract Society to the revival of 1831, embracing the period 
of the signal displays of divine grace in the Tract and Bible 
ant pressure of duty — superintends a large Sabbath school 
of boys — conversions in his Sabbath school and in the congregation — in- 
teresting work of grace in the Tract and Bible houses — boldness of infi- 
delity — exertions for supplying the destitute of the city — concern for the 
salvation of his children — conversion of a friend residing in his family — 
anonymous note to a skillful player on the piano — consecrated as an offi- 
cer of the church — request for the services of his former pastor — ardent 
hopes for our country — letter of thanks from a teacher of his Sabbath 
school, then in college — letter to his sister — to afflicted relatives — commu- 
nication for London — history of the revival in Tract and Bible houses — 
letter from a fellow-laborer — cheering results— conversions — letter to a 
bereaved brother— encouragement to a missionary— commencement of 
systematic christian effort connected with Tract distribution — its use- 
fulness — brief and severe illness — son and daughter unite with the 
church, 133 

CHAP. VIII.— From the commencement of the revival of 1831 to 

HIS LAST SICKNESS, EMBRACING RESULTS OF HIS SABBATH SCHOOL, HIS SU- 
PERINTENDENCE OF CHRISTIAN EFFORT CONNECTED WITH TRACT DISTRI- 
BUTION, AND THE TRANSFER OF HIS LABORS TO A NEW CHURCH. — Wonder 

ful effusions of the Holy Spirit— encouragement to praying parents— use- 



D CONTENTS. 

fulness of a cttcr to a friend in Boston— his burning zeal and incessant 
efforts — failuro of health — resigns superintendence of Sabbath school- 
most gratifying results — visits Coventry-— sketch of his father's house- 
counsel to his son on entering an academy — instructs a female Bible class 
—superintends christian effort connected with Tract distribution hi 14th 
ward — means to seeure direct efforts for the salvation of individuals — suc- 
cess of his own efforts in a district — labors during the prevalence of cho- 
lera — communication to a meeting of his Tract distributers — to the female 
Bible class — letter to his parents— to his son — Tract distributers' day of 
fasting — interesting family scene — transfer to a new church — closes his 
connection with Tract distribution in 1 4th ward— results — testimony of the 
pastor of the church he left — superintends a new Sabbath school — decline of 
health — letters to his son and daughter— testimony of the preacher at the 
new church— last item of business, 162 

? CHAP. IX.— Prominent characteristics of his efforts for the 
salvation of men.— It was the burden of his heart— list of names — ef- 
forts unremitted— waking in tears— object not to be happy, but useful— felt 
necessity to all of being " born again" — anecdote of a young merchant — 
labored for individuals— followed up impressions made— clear sense of 
obligation — appeal to a Christian who watched with him— a farewell mes- 
sage—labored to bring men to a decision, illustrated by two anecdotes and 
a letter— expected success from God in answer to prayer— prayed much 

character of his prayers— effect on himself— obtained premium Tract 

on prayer— acknowledged perfect obligation and perfect dependence- 
uniform and unwearied— spirituality of religion not to be excluded from 
social meetings— fruitfulness in expedients for doing good— as the father 
of a family— letter from his son— paragraphs for religious papers— album* 
—Temperance cause— young men directed to the ministry— did not live 
to accumulate property— anecdote— skill in selecting Tracts— all the effi 



CONTENTS. 7 

cicncy of God — great blessing on his labors — testimony on his dcath-b6d 
—powerful influence of such a life for the conversion of the world, . 193 

CHAP. X. — Triumphs of grace on his dying bed. — His certainty of 
his departure for many weeks — clear state of mind — reception of the an- 
nouncement that he must die — seeks continual presence of Christ — not ob- 
tained for some days — new view of his love — how obtained — love of the 
brethren — and of souls — affecting conversation with the author — gratitude 
for mercies — sense of unworthiness — commits his family to God — no more 
concern about his burial — messages to his parents and friends in Coventry 
— longs to depart — ascribes all his usefulness to divine grace — deep sense 
of sin — delightful anticipation of heaven — relishes only what is spiritual 
— portions of the Bible and Hymns — urges Christians to duty — longs for 
a spirit of love in the churches — utterance in disturbed sleep — visit of a 
fellow-laborer — influence of sacred music in the chamber of death — hymns 
44 Rock of Ages," and 44 My faith looks up to Thee " — portions of other 
precious hymns — importance of cultivating sacred music — instrumental 
music — tenderness of spirit — gratitude to his physician — exhorts his com- 
panion 10 trust in God — anecdotes illustrating his dread of sin and sense 
of unworthiness — arrival of his son — prayers — dying messages to his fa- 
mily — commits them and himself to God — subscription for his family — 
anecdote— hie grave, 208 



MEMOIR, &c. 



CHAPTER I. 

INTRODUCTORY. 

Faithful Christian Biography has at once its 
sanction and model in the word of God ; and in our 
own times, its excellent practical influence is con- 
firmed in the history of many eminent individuals. 
Most of these, by their superior talents, education, 
or commanding spheres of action, present an exam- 
ple which the community in general may indeed 
admire, but which few, comparatively, can hope to 
imitate. 

The present unpretending memoir exhibits the 
fidelity and success of a humble Christian, whose 
opportunities and powers were scarcely superior to 
those of thousands ; and is chiefly designed to illus- 
trate a single point — the power of prayer and 

PERSONAL EFFORT FOR THE SOULS OF INDIVIDUALS. 

It is obvious to all, that the kingdom of Christ 
can be extended in our world only by the accession 
of individuals. His blood avails not to the salvation 
of men in the mass ; but to those who individually 
repent of sin, and accept of his mercy. The Holy, 



10 INTRODUCTION. 

Spirit strives with men and sanctifies them only as 
individuals. It is as individuals that the inhabit- 
ants of our world must be raised to heaven, or sink 
to hell. Yet to how great an extent are the prayers 
and contributions of Christians made indefinitely for 
the conversion of the world as a whole, while the 
salvation of no one individual is the object of their 
personal and persevering endeavors ! How great a 
portion of that "light of the world," which the 
church is commanded to reflect, is so " hid," that no 
one individual sees it and feels its influence ! how 
great a portion of the "salt of the earth," by which 
men are to be purified and saved, is so kept in the 
mass, as to be brought into contact with 
none! 

The truth evidently is, that personal efforts for the 
souls of individuals — the lip, and thoughts and heart 
of a living man, brought into contact with the lip, 
and thoughts and heart of a living man — is a grand 
institution of God for the conversion of the world ; 
and we must expect success, not in neglecting, but 
in coinciding with the Divine economy. It was 
when " they that feared the Lord spake often one to 
another" that his book of Temembrance was written. 
His command is, a As every man hath received the 
gift, even so minister the same one to another" Not 
only *' the Spirit and the Bride," but " ht that hear- 
eth" must " say, come." Christians are exhorted to 
" shine as lights in the world, holding forth the word 



INTRODUCTION. . 11 

of life ;■" and the blessed encouragement is given, 
" He which converteth the sinner from the error of 
his way shall save a soul from death, and hide a 
multitude of sins." The parable of Nathan illus- 
trates this principle with inimitable force and beauty: 
" Thou art the man," humbled the king in the dust 
before God. 

The same principle is exemplified in the success 
of the personal efforts of the pious mother ; of the 
skillful Sabbath School and Bible Class instructer : 
and of faithful pastoral visitation : in all which Di- 
vine truth is happily pressed upon the heart of the 
individual. It has also an irresistible confirmation 
in the fact, that wherever the Holy Spirit is largely 
poured out, the ministers and members of the church 
abound in faithful conversation and prayer with each 
other, and with the impenitent. 

Much of the "preaching" of the New Testament 
was unquestionably of this sort. To such labor 
were the apostles sent out by our Savior, who sanc- 
tioned his instructions by his own divine example. 

Paul, with all his crushing public responsibilities, 
could testify to the Ephesian elders, that he had la- 
bored among them both "publicly and from house to 
house;" and appeal to them as witnesses of his own 
fidelity, in the memorable and most emphatic words : 

"REMEMBER, THAT, BY THE SPACE OF THREE 
YEARS, I CEASED NOT TO WARN EVERY ONE, NIGHT 
AND DAY, WITH TEARS." 



12 INTRODUCTION 

r By such labor pre-eminently have pagans and men 
far from God, in all circumstances and periods of 
time, been brought to attend on the public means of 
grace, and join themselves to his people. 

Of the signal outpouring of the Holy Spirit among 
the natives of Ceylon, in connection with the Ameri- 
can mission, the Rev. Mr. Winslow states, that 
"there were few cases of permanent conviction, in 
which religious impressions were not cherished by 
much patient labor of the missionaries or their as- 
sistants, in conversing and praying with individuals 
alone. It was this repeated and personal applica*- 
tion of truth, which principally took effect." 

This class of effort was a grand means of the un- 
paralleled success of the ministry of Baxter at Kid- 
derminster. 

" If I had true love to souls," said Henry Mar- 
tyn, when contemplating a foreign mission, " I 
should long and labor for those around me, and af- 
terwards for the conversion of the heathen ;V and 
often did he " redeem time from study, from recrea- 
tion, and from the intercourse of friends, that he 
might enter the abodes of misery, to arouse the un- 
thinking slumberer, or administer consolation to the 
dejected penitent." 

u Our views," said James Brainerd Taylor, 
when a student in college, must " not be confined to 
the end of our preparatory course. There are many 
opportunities now of doing good. The call from 



INTRODUCTION. 13 

many a lowly cottage is, ' Come over and help us. 1 " 
Again: "Resolved that I will, the Lord being my 
helper, think, speak and act as an individual ; for 
as such I must live, as such I must die, stand before 
God, and be damned or saved for ever and ever. I 
have been waiting for others : I must act as if I were 
the only one to act, and wait no longer." 

If adding another example of the steadfastness of 
aim, self-denying perseverance, skill, and success 
with which a humble Christian discharged the same 
duty — connected, through the grace of God, with a 
most blessed and triumphant death — shall have any 
influence in encouraging other Christians thus to la- 
bor for God and the souls of men, the publication of 
this little work will not be in vain. 

It is proper the reader should be informed that 
there does not appear the slightest indication that 
the subject of this sketch anticipated the publication 
of any memorial of himself. Of many of the most 
interesting scenes of his life he left no record what 
ever, except incidentally in hasty letters to his friends 
— evidently so intent on securing the results as to 
forget the record of them, or so constantly occupied 
as to have no time to prepare it. Almost all his com- 
munications here inserted have been abridged and 
condensed, with slight changes in the phraseology, 
while the sentiment is scrupulously retained. 
2 



'4 LIFE OF H. PAGE. 



CHAPTER II. 



FIVE YEARS. RESIDENCE IN HIS NATIVE PLACE 
FROM THE TIME OF HIS CONVERSION. 

Harlan Page was born in Coventry, in the 
county of Tolland, Connecticut, July $&8, 1791. 
He was the only son of pious parents ; always sus- 
tained a good moral character ; was taught by his 
father the trade of a house-joiner, and received a good 
common education. 

In May, 1813, he married Miss Mary Kings- 
bury, who was to be the helper of his spiritual 
course till his death, though at the time of their mar- 
riage neither of them were pious. The earliest letter 
written by him, which has come to hand, is the fol- 
lowing, addressed to Rev. E. T. W , who was 

then his minister. 

Sabbath morning, Oct. 17, 1813. 
" Rev. and Dear Sir, — Your prayers, I trust, 
nave been heard. My dear companion hopes she has 
accepted of the Savior, and devoted herself and her 
all to him. But I am yet in the gall of bitterness, in 
opposition to God — my anguish last night was al 
most insupportable. I could see my Savior nailed to 



HIS CONVERSION. 15 

the cross, bleeding and dying for sinners. I could 
see him with open arms, saying, ' Come unto me, 
all ye that labor and are heavy laden, and I will give 
you rest/ I could pray, but this only increased my 
pain. I fear the Holy Spirit will leave me to hard- 
ness of heart and blindness of mind. do remember 
me in your prayers ; for the prayer of faith availeth 
much. 

" Your affectionate and distressed friend, 

"Harlan Page." 

His distress for his sins was such at this period, 
.hat he frequently left his work to retire and pray; 
and as he rode to and from a neighboring town 
where he was engaged in business, he often felt con- 
strained to stop and go into the grove to plead for 
mercy. He soon engaged in instructing a school, 
where, after dismissing his pupils, he often remained 
for meditation and prayer. He was thus engaged in 
solitude one evening, when his sense of his lost con- 
dition as a sinner became so intense that he felt that 
he could not again leave the throne of grace till the 
controversy with his Maker was closed. There, in 
the darkness of midnight, and under the guidance, 
none can doubt, of the Holy Spirit, he consecrated 
himself to his Redeemer : not merely in the confi- 
dence of pardon and acceptance, but with the deter- 
mination to live and labor to promote his glory in 
the salvation of the perishing. " When I first oh- 



16 LIFE OF H. PAGE. 

tained a hope," he said on his dying bed, " I felt 
that J must labor for souls. I prayed, year after 
year, that God would make me the means of saving 
souls" 

On Sabbath, March 6, 1814, he and his companion, 
with twenty others, publicly professed their faith in 
Christ, and joined the visible church. 

Only three days after this we find the date of an 
interesting and faithful letter, addressed to a relative 
who had long been hardening himself in sin and 
resisting the strivings of the Holy Spirit. He seems 
to suppose his friend to be perverting the doctrine 
of his dependence upon God, as an excuse for will- 
fully continuing in sin. He first quotes the objec- 
tion as it is strongly stated by Baxter in his Call to 
the Unconverted, together with the whole of Bax- 
ter's reply. He then presses the same considera- 
tions in his own language, supporting them by nu- 
merous commands and promises from the Bible, 
and adds : 

" Were you in a boat just above an awful cataract, 
already feeling the force of the impetuous current, 
would you not endeavor to reach the shore ? Would 
you say, * I can do nothing : God must save me with- 
out my own exertions, if I am saved at all V Why 
then will you not strive to escape a more terrible 
destruction — the eternal, inconceivable horrors of a 
lost soul ? 

" You allow that a change of heart is necessary ,' 



SEVERE SICKNESS. 17 

and will not be offended with my plainness. Could 
I but see you earnestly engaged for your salvation, 
how would my heart beat for joy; how would I 
give thanks to the eternal God ! 

u Dear Sir, do consider and picture to yourself 
the dying hour. Then you must see your danger. 
Will you then say that, when in health, you could 
not attend to the salvation of the soul % Will you not 
rather exclaim, ' O that I had a few days more to 
live, that I might prepare to die V 

" Do not say you cannot pray. Do you believe in 
the joys of heaven and the torments of despair ; and 
will you not so much as ask God to grant you the 
one, and save you from the other ? Turning away 
from God and heaven, I am sure your own reason 
must convict you of madness and awful presumption. 
" Your affectionate friend, 

"H. Page." 

In the summer of this year God saw fit to disci- 
pline his servant by a very severe, protracted and 
painful illness, by which he was brought to hold in- 
timate converse with death, and taught to sympa-* 
thi^e with the suffering. His sickness is thus de* 
srribed in a letter to an aunt, dated, Coventry, Octo- 
oer 18, 1814. j 

" About the 20th of May I was attacked with fe- 
ver, which continued two or three weeks ; and left 
me with an affection of the liver, attended with se* 
2* 



18 LIFE OF H. PAGE. 

vere pain, which baffled the skill of physicians. 
It continued for eleven weeks, when a swelling be- 
gan to rise on my back, which was exceedingly 

painful, and was at length opened by Dr. W , 

who was obliged to make a deep and long incision 
in the live flesh. I have been chiefly confined to my 
bed for seventeen weeks." 

To another friend he writes : " Experience, more 
than observation, I find, teaches our need of Divine 
support in affliction. With it, we can endure the 
most piercing pain, and rejoice with thankfulness ; 
and even in the immediate prospect of death, no ter- 
ror alarms. The spirit, in a near view of eternal 
glory, forgets the pain, and longc to soar on high." 

The grand lesson, which he felt that this sickness 
taught him, was that he must devote the life God had 
preserved more faithfully to him, in labors for the 
salvation of all to whom he had access. 

His next letter which has come to hand was ad- 
dressed to a pious female relative who was walking 
in spiritual darkness, designed to aid her in self- 
examination. He inquires whether she had neglect- 
ed prayer, indulged in any known sin, been remiss 
in efforts for the spiritual welfare of those around 
her, or in any known duty ; and entreats her to re- 
turn to her heavenly Father, and consecrate herself 
anew to him, assured that his grace should be suf- 
ficient for her. 

The next is to a young lady who had been under 



CORRESPONDENCE. 19 

serious impressions while a member of his school, 
urging her not to delay repentance, but come with 
all her heart and embrace the Savior. 

The next to a young friend who had professed 
Christ, but was exposed to temptations from thought- 
less companions. 

The next, bearing date September 3, 1815, is ad- 
dressed to one who was a playmate of his childhood, 

but of whose conversion he had heard at M , 

N. Y. requesting a particular account of his reli- 
gious exercises, and especially that he would address 
a letter to his former acquaintance in Coventry who 
continued out of Christ, and remember them in his 
prayers. 

" Since you were here," he says, *' we have been 
visited with the gracious outpouring of the Spirit, 
and nearly fifty have been added to the church ; but 
alas ! there are yet many promising youth who neg- 
lect offered mercy; and who, if sovereign grace do 
not interpose, must sink into unending wo. I doubt 
not you feel how great is their danger, and long for 
their salvation. Do write to them ; it may be God 
will make you the instrument of salvation to their 
souls. They respect you, and should you address 
them, they may listen to your warnings and come 
to Christ. Do also pray for us and them. God is eve- 
ry where present, and will hear the prayer of faith." 

Two days after, we find a letter addressed to E. 
L , a young lady for whose salvation he had 



20 LIFE OF H. PAGE. 

labored during her residence of a few days in his 
family, and who was under the strivings of the Holy 
Spirit. 

" The language of Jehovah is, ' the soul that sin- 
neth, it shall die.' There is not one of Adam's lost 
race who has not forfeited eternal life by his sins. 
But there is one refuge, and one alone. Jesus Christ 
can save us ; and he is ready to receive every re- 
turning sinner, and make him an heir of eternal 

joy. Sleep not, E , take no rest, day nor night, 

till you have obtained peace with God. The billows 
of his wrath roll just beneath the steps of all the 
unconverted. Delay not a moment. No future time 
can be more favorable. Call upon God without ceas- 
ing ; and if you perish, perish pleading for mercy. 
Let nothing divert your attention. If you grieve the 
Holy Spirit, his gracious influences may never re- 
turn; and you (O overwhelming thought!) must 
sink where hope can never come ; where mercy 
never gains admission. A few christian friends are 
praying for you daily. Nothing but love impels me 
to write. Will you inform me what progress you are 
making, and what are your unshaken resolutions? 
" With affection and esteem, 

"H. Page." 

TO THE SAME. 

"Monday evening, Sept. 11, 1815. 
"Friend E , Are you yet without hope? 



CORRESPONDENCE. 21 

Gloomy and dejected, do you yet go "mourning, 
without one ray of heavenly grace ? If so, your situ- 
ation is trying ; but I trust you would not for worlds 
return to your former state of thoughtlessness. You 
say you desire more pungent and heart-piercing 
convictions — to be awakened from your dangerous 
stupidity. Call upon God to place your sins before 
you ; to humble you in the dust for them ; and to 
show mercy to a guilty, repenting, returning prodigal. 
All you have to do is to cast yourself unreservedly, 
with all your sins, upon the mercy of Christ; to be 
deeply humbled for them ; and with faith in the Re- 
deemer's blood, take him as your only hope and 
portion. Never can you make yourself more accept- 
able to him. He only can clothe you with his own 
righteousness. He is ready to receive you. Go then, 
dear friend, in the best manner you are able, and 
cast yourself into his arms with all your guilt. 

There is a mercy-seat, 
1 Sprinkled with blood, where Jesus answers prayer ; 
1 There humbly cast yourself beneath his feet, 
' For never needy sinner perished there.* 

u Beware of every sin. Cling not to your thought- 
less companions. If you will serve God, you must 
expect the neglect and reproaches of some of them. 
But who are they? Are they the truly wise? Are 
they truly happy % Are they safe % Alas ! they are on 
the brink of perdition. 



22 LIFE OF H. PAGE. 

" Faint not, while you have life. Fear not enemies. 
Fight the warfare of faith, and you shall win the 
glorious inheritance of the blessed. 

" With affectionate regard, your friend, 

"H. Page/' 

The result of these faithful efforts, through the di- 
vine blessing, may be gathered from the following 
extract of a letter to a Christian friend, dated, 

Monday \ sunset, Oct. 30, 1815. 
" I have joyful news to tell you — news which has 

made heaven glad. Our friend E appears to 

be enjoying as much happiness as mortals are allow- 
ed this side of eternity. ' O,' says- she, (in a letter 
she had just written him, with an overflowing heart) 
4 the height and depth of the love of Christ ! How 
precious does this dear Savior now appear to me ! 
Tongue can never express, nor heart conceive, 
which has not experienced the same, the sweet peace 
and joy I have found in him.' " 

In a subsequent letter to Mr. Page, she says, 
11 Your first epistle found me in the gall of bitter- 
ness ; and but for your friendly advice, I fear I shoulc 
now have been pursuing the vanities of the world. 
The Savior was pleased to make you the happy in- 
strument of showing me my sins, and bringing me 
to partake of his love." 

His own views of Christian duty at this time 



CORRESPONDENCE. 23 

may be gathered from the following extract of a 
letter addressed to this young convert, November 16. 

11 Let us, E , cast our eyes around on the poor, 

thoughtless, dying impenitent. How should we sup- 
plicate the throne of grace in their behalf! But this 
is not all. We must tell them of their danger, and 
point them to a bleeding Savior. 

" An excuse is made by many Christians, which 
I conceive will not bear the scrutiny of the judgment 
day: they say they have not the talents for address- 
ing the impenitent and conversing with them on the 
subject of religion. But are the simple truths of the 
Gospel so dark, that only the learned can understand 
them ? Are the words, ' He that believeth shall be 
saved, but he that believeth not shall be damned,' so 
obscure, that we cannot properly impress them upon 
others? Is the road to perdition so plainly described 
in the Bible, and can we raise no warning voice to 
the throngs who travel it ? Are the hap Mness of the 
righteous and the everlasting torments of the impe- 
nitent so clearly described, and can we see friends 
around us crowding their way to despair, with our 
lips closed in perpetual silence? The truth is, our 
faith in eternal realities is weak, and our sense of 
duty faint, while we thus neglect the salvation of our 
fellow-beings. Let us awake to duty; and while we 
have a tongue or pen, devote them to the service o 
the Most High, not in our own strength, but with 
strong faith and confidence in him." 



24 LIFE OF H. PAGE* 

Two days after, we find him attempting to lead 
the mind of a young lady to improve the death of a 
beloved father to her own spiritual good. 

" The recent afflictive event and an earnest desire 
for your eternal salvation constitute a]l the apology 
I need offer for now addressing you. But what shall 
I say 1 Whom am I addressing ? a humble follow- 
er of the blessed Jesus, or one who has no interest 
in him ? If the former, how happy are you ! If the 
latter, how awful, how tremendous are the divine de- 
nunciations against you, unless you renounce the 
world and accept of offered mercy ! Of late you 
have abundantly needed some kind hand to support 
you. 

" Were your beloved father to speak to you from 
another world, how impressive would be his lan- 
guage ! Would he say, ' Sleep on : forget a dying 
hour: regard not the threatenings of Jehovah: let 
this world be your portion V No ; he would rather 
say, * Neglect not the calls of mercy. Sleep not upon 
the brink of perdition. Awake! arise! prepare to 
meet your God ! Delay not ; for the day of the Lord 
is at hand.' While on the bed of death, he uttered, 
in broken accents, the words, 'Repent, repent.' 
May this providence lead you faithfully to examine 
your heart, and see if you are prepared to follow 
him. God's design in this affliction is doubtless that 
you may come to him as the only source of real 
consolation ; that you may be humble, and prayerful, 



CORRESPONDENCE. 25 

and better fitted to be useful in life and happy in 
heaven. May you all have divine support. Accept 
these lines as an expression of affection and sympa- 
thy, and an earnest desire that they may be instru- 
mental of some good to your immortal soul. 

11 With esteem, your friend, H. Page." 

Four days after, we find a full letter addressed to 
a Christian friend, on the duty of faithful self exa- 
mination, with a scriptural view of the more palpa- 
ble and decisive tests of Christian character. 

Early in December he commenced a letter to his 

Christian brother at M -, N. Y. which shows the 

deep interest he then felt in the spiritual welfare of 
many individuals, as well as of the church gene- 
rally. He complains of his own languid affections , 
states that there were then no revivals of religion in 
all the eastern portion of the State ; that Chris- 
tians generally seemed to have become languid and 
formal, and the impenitent to be "unconcerned, 
while the wrath of heaven is impending over them." 

tl R ," he says, " when in conversation, pleads, 

as do many others, the ungodly lives of professors of 
religion. He ' rather thinks that, if he lives a moral 
life and prays in secret, he is on the road to hea- 
ven as well as many w r ho make so much ado about 
religion.' 

" As to Mrs. , I am not now particularly ac- 
quainted with the state of her mind. She is very re* 
3 



26 LIFE OF H. PAGE. 

served in conversation on the subject of religion, as 
are many others of the unconverted, and even many 
who profess to be the disciples of Christ. How 
criminal is our neglect to improve every proper op- 
portunity in conversing on the most important of all 
subjects ! 

" L S read your letter, but seems not 

deeply affected with his lost condition as a sinner. 
His wife, in the late revival, almost ventured to in- 
dulge a hope ; but she is now more reserved on re- 
ligious subjects." 

This gentleman used to complain of the visits of 
his wife at the house of Mr. Page ; as he said she 
always returned " in such a fever about her soul ;" 
but both ere long had a new song put into their 
mouths. 

44 A P " (proceeds the letter) " gives his 

assent to the truths of religion ; but argues, that if he 
attends on the public means of grace, he commits 
more sin than if he stays at home ; and asks how he 
can pray, when he has not the least inclination to 
the duty. 

" I feel greatly condemned for not making more 
faithful efforts for the salvation of these dear friends. 

" E , (above alluded to,) has lately been 

brought to experience the boundless love of the Sa- 
vior, and her happiness in him seems to be almost 
without alloy. At our next communion she 'expects 
publicly to devote herself to him. 



SWEARER REPROVED. 27 

" Since I comenced this letter we have established 
a weekly prayer-meeting. The first meeting was 
remarkably well attended. A few individuals seem 
to be aroused, and the prospect seems a little more 
favorable. I beg your prayers for us as a people, 
and for 

" Your unworthy and affectionate brother, 

" H. Page." 

The following is an anonymous note, in which he 
enclosed an appropriate Tract to a young man, by 
whose profaneness he had been recently pained, on 
meeting him at a public store. 

" Accept the inclosed from one who earnestly de- 
sires your best good ; and may I beg the favor that 
you will read it with candor, and weigh well the 
sentiments it contains. I have seen you only once ; 
but then had reason to fear that you have not seri- 
ously considered the sin of taking the name of that 
God in vain, in whose hand is your life, and who 
alone can save you from eternal wo. My sense of 
your danger was such that I could not refrain from 
addressing you and entreating you to turn to God 
and live. 

" Affectionately your 

u Fellow Traveller to Eternity." 

Under date of June 9, 1816, he writes as follows. 
M Though detained, in the providence of God, from 



28 LIFE OF H. PAGE. 

his house this day, my heart is still there. I antici- 
pate with pleasure and joy the visitation of the Spirit 
of grace among this people. I almost imagine I now 
see the tear of the guilty penitent, and hear the lan- 
guage of the heart, in broken accents, ' What must 
I do to be saved V Are not God's children engaged ? 
Are not their united prayers now ascending, an ac- 
ceptable sacrifice to an almighty Savior? 

" O God, hear our united cry for mercy on perish- 
ing sinners. Help us to abase ourselves before thee, 
and in faith plead for the outpouring of the Spirit, to 
awaken thy children, and convict and convert the im- 
penitent. May our assembly be clothed in sackcloth 
for our sins ; sighs break from broken hearts, and 
hundreds be new clothed with the spotless robe of 
our Savior's righteousness. Encourage the heart of 
our minister by shaking these dry bones, and raising 
up multitudes as champions for the truth as it is in 
Jesus. Let thy power be made known in all the 
churches, and spread thy blessing abroad in the 
earth, till the reign of our exalted God and King 
shall be universal.' ' 

" Coventry, June 15, 1816. 

To E L , (the young lady addressed Sept. 11, 1815.) 

" Yesterday I attended a prayer-meeting at a. 

school-house in T . As I entered, the very 

sight of the people thrilled through my soul. More 
than 200 were assembled in deep solemnity. Some, 



DESIRES TO BE HUMBLE, 29 

slain by the law, seemed to say in agony of soul, ( I 
must die, and lie down in eternal sorrow. I am at 
enmity with God. Wo is me ; I perish. Lord God, 
have mercy, have mercy.' The work is apparently 
progressing. Rev. Mr. N informed me that be- 
tween sixty and seventy have hopefully been born 
again, and that about an equal number are under 
conviction of sin. What a glorious display of Divine 
grace and mercy ! 

" I rejoice that you have tokens of the Divine favor 

in A . When reading your letter, sensations not 

to be described arose in my breast ; and a renewed 
resolution to devote myself more entirely to God 
was, I trust, the happy effect. But yet of one thing I 
stand in fear — that, should God see fit to make me 
the instrument of good to any soul, I shall not give 
him all the glory. O for that humility, which God 
approves, and which makes man useful to man ! 
Much do I need it. May God help me to obtain it. 

" There are two or three instances of conviction 
among us— I hope as happy preludes to a general 
outpouring of the Spirit. 

" I shall write a few lines to S , at your re- 
quest. You have opportunities of conversing with 
him. DonH let them slip. Warn him to flee from 
the wrath to come, and fly to Jesus for safety. 

" Yours sincerely, H. Page.' 

To the young man alluded to in the last para~ 
graph, he wrote as follows : 
3* 



30 LIFE OF H. PAGE. 

" Dear Sir, — Understanding that you have been 
led to discover the necessity of religion, I have pre- 
sumed (though unacquainted with you) to write you 
a few lines. You are sensible that there is a God ; 
that by his holy law the soul that sins must die ; and 
that all men have broken this law, and are exposed 
to his just indignation through the countless ages 
of eternity. 0, sir, (for you will suffer me to speak 
freely,) are you of this number <? Do you stand on 
the borders of eternal wo — ' where their worm dieth 
not and the fire is not quenched V But stop — the 
contemplation strikes horror into the soul. Let 
us view the enrapturing scene of redeeming love. 
Souls that have sinned are not altogether hopeless. 
When all were condemned by sin, then it was that 
the Lord Jesus gave himself an offering — bare our 
sins — and suffered the inexpressible agonies of death, 
that we, poor guilty rebels, might have life. This 
blessed Savior is ready to receive you. My young 
friend, ' all things are ready.' Cast yourself, just as 
you are, on him for pardon, sanctification and sal- 
vation. Delay not. While you delay you aggra- 
vate your guilt. Call on God day and night ; search 
the Scriptures ; and let not your reluctant heart 
prove your ruin for ever. Death may be near. Re- 
solve, if you perish, to perish pleading for mercy. I 
entreat you delay not ; but this moment go to Christ 
and ' take of the waters of life freely.' 

* { With sincere regard, your friend, 

" H. Page." 



DESIRJES TO BE FAITHFUL. 31 

On the following day he wrote to C , a young 

female friend with whom he had long been intimate, 
a letter full of moving and earnest entreaty to at- 
tend to the concerns of her soul ; and requesting her 
to communicate it to a female acquaintance, and con- 
verse freely with her on the great subject it brought 
before them. 

In a memorandum of the same date he expresses 
some concern in respect to his health, which he had 
not entirely recovered since his severe illness, and 
as to the means of supporting his family ; but re- 
signs all to the will of God. 

" That my life is not to be a long one," he adds, 
11 some monitor within seems frequently to tell me, 
which I hope may incite me to greater diligence in 
duty, and continual preparation for eternity. O 
Lord, do thou direct me in the right way. Be my 
guide in every concern of life. Let me not do any 
thing from false motives. Keep me constantly hum- 
ble and constantly engaged for the good of all souls 
around me. Grant that my companion and myself 
may zealously co-operate in every good work ; never 
distrust thy providence ; and be guided where we 
may be shining lights, and be useful. Should our 
dear babe be left fatherless or motherless, do thou 
provide for it ; preserve his life ; renew his heart ; 
and make him the means of salvation to many souls, 
through Emmanuel's name. 

" H. Page." 



32 LIFE OF H. PAGE. 

The following memorandum, dated July 4, con- 
tains an intimation that God was blessing his efforts, 
and that he ascribed to him ail the glory. 

"Shall I ever have cause to regret addressing: 
some of my fellow-men by letter on the concerns of 
eternity? Will not the blessing God has seen fit to 
grant on some of my endeavors, prevent all regret 
in this or the future world ? Shall not the conversion 
of souls, of which I have just had intelligence, stimu- 
late me to more active endeavors to be useful to man, 
and to honor my divine Master ? To him belongs 
all the glory. God forbid that I should take any of 
it to myself. What am I ? — a vile reptile of the earth, 
just crawling on the brink of the grave." 

Coventry July 8, 1816. 
To E L . 

" Persevere, Eliza, in the good work. Use all your 
influence. Warn those around you, with discretion 
and prudence, and your crown of rejoicing shall re- 
ceive additional lustre in the great day of the Lord. 

" You ask what are our prospects. We don't yet 
despair. Some Christians are uncommonly engaged, 

and some youth are serious. F W appears 

to be under deep conviction. G and her sister 

I are anxiously inquiring what they must do to 

be saved." 

July 8, having heard glad tidings from S , the 



LETTER OF A CONVERT. 33 

young man whom he addressed June 15, he wrote 
him as follows : 

Monday, P. M. July, 1816. 

" Dear Sir, — In imagination I cordially take you 
by the hand, and call you Brother. Happy are 
you, if the allurements of the world have lost their 
charms; and Christ, as you hope, has made you 
an heir of glory. You have entered on a warfare ; 
and though the enemy may not now be in full view, 
you will need to be clad with the whole armor of 
God to resist his wiles. 

" Go on and rejoice. Do much for the cause of 
Christ. Be diligent in duty, and neglect not to warn 
your companions in sin. Be prudent ; discreet ; 
guard against temptation; be affectionate to your 
companions ; let your example be upright, always 
trusting in God for assistance in every thing you do. 
I wish to write more, but cannot add now. 

" With sincere affection, your friend, 

"H. Page." 

How must our departed brother's heart have been 
cheered by receiving the following reply from this 
young friend, whose face, when he first addressed 
him, he had never seen ! 

" Dear Sir, — The name of Brother, by which you 
were pleased to call me, endeared you to my heart, 



34 LIFE OF H. PAGE. 

though I feel unworthy to be called by that name. 

Sir, what a deplorable condition was I in! I was 
fighting against God and sporting with eternal rea- 
lities ; and should have remained so till death, had 
not Almighty love snatched me from the pit of de- 
struction. O wondrous love indeed manifested to my 
soul ! . I think I am now enabled to view, by faith, the 

1 Lamb of God who taketh away the sin of the world.' 
The Sabbath after I saw you, the load of guilt was, 
I trust, removed from my heart, and before I was 
aware, I was praising God. O why did Jesus snatch 
me thus from everlasting burnings ! 

" Twas the same love that spread the feast, 

" That sweetly forced me in ; 
" Else I had still refused to taste, 

" And perished in my sin." 

" O that I may be enabled to do something for 
God — something for that dear Redeemer who bled, 
and groaned, and died on Calvary for one so guilty 
as I. 

"O Sir, you cannot imagine how much I desire to 
see you. Will you not still continue to write me? 
Your letters were the means of awakening me to the 
concerns of my soul. When I first heard them read, 
horror seized my mind ; I was brought to see my- 
self a guilty sinner, justly condemned by the holy 
law of God. E r L , after conversing solemn- 
ly with me one evening, read several of your letters 



TO A TIMID INQUIRER. 85 

I never shall forget the impression they made upon 
my mind, and also upon the minds of my two bro- 
thers ; for God was pleased to awaken us all at this 
time. 0, Dear Sir, may God reward you for your 
love to immortal souls. Do write to all the dear 
youth in Coventry. Tell them from me, there is no- 
thing but religion worth living for. Tell them the 
storm of Divine wrath is impending over them. 
Entreat them to fly to Jesus for safety, lest they hear 
his awful sentence, ' Depart, ye cursed, into everlast- 
ing fire,' 

,{ Your affectionate, though unworthy friend, 

" S H ." 

The following was addressed to an impenitent ac- 
quaintance, who frequently came very secretly to 
converse with Mr. Page : 

To S L , 

u Dear Sir, — Though I have had no particular 
conversation with you for some time, I still earn- 
estly desire to know the state of your mind. Have 
you yet no evidence that your peace is made with 
God, and are you still treasuring up wrath against the 
day of wrath ? If so, let me beseech you, fly this 
moment and take refuge in the Savior. His ransom 
is sufficient for every returning prodigal. 

44 Do you wait to make yourself righteous % It is 
a visionary idea. In your own righteousness you c*Va 
never proceed a step toward heaven. In vain will 



36 LiFE OF H. PAGE. 

you wait in any way short of casting yourself un* 
reservedly on the free grace and mercy of Christ* 
When you resolve in your own strength to live 
without sin, do you find you make any advances 
toward a pure and holy life? Are you not daily 
ensnared with temptations and easily besetting sins? 

" Labor to view sin in all its deformity in the 
sight of Godj and to get a thorough knowledge of 
your own heart. Repent of your sins. Read the 
Scriptures. Be constant and fervent in prayer, re- 
membering for your encouragement, that ' the king- 
dom of heaven sufTereth violence, and the violent 
take it by force.' Remember, that, while out of 
Christ, every moment is big with danger. Death is 
near. Eternity is near. Let me entreat you, lay 
hold on eternal life before it be for ever too late. 

11 With ardent desires for your salvation, your af- 
fectionate friend, H. Page." 

" N. B. A few lines in return would be very 
gratifying." 

"July 28, 1816. This day completes one fourth of a 
century of my life. More than twenty-two years have 
I lived in sin ; less than three have I devoted, in any 
feeble measure, to the service of Christ. More than 
one third of 'threescore years and ten' is already 
elapsed, and probably more than one half of my life 
is spent. The grave must soon open for my body, 
and my soul be in eternity. May God make me faith" 



CHURCH MUSIC. 37 

ful till death ; and then, through boundiess grace, 
receive me to glory." 

To his friend at M« , N. Y. he says, under 

date of August 26, " Several towns in this vicinity 
have begun to experience refreshings from the pre- 
sence of the Lord ; and two young persons among 
us have lately been brought to rejoice in sovereign 
mercy, witnessing for God that we are not entirely 

forsaken. One is a daughter of Mr. H W . 

The other, I know you will be rejoiced to hear, is 

Mrs. Z B , who, within a few days, has a 

new song in her mouth, even praise to our God. 

" I am told you have commenced study for the 
ministry. Is it so? It is a great work on which to 
enter to ' watch for souls ;' but God's grace will aid 
all sincere endeavors to glorify him and save lost 
man. We expect to see you here this fall. 
" Your friend and brother, 

"H. Page." 

" P. S. When you visit Coventry, I wish you to 
bring some of your favorite church music. 17 

To Mr. Page sacred music was, through life, a 
source of much religious enjoyment, and a constant 
auxiliary in family and social worship. 

Having written a faithful letter to an estimable 
young female connection, endeavoring to induce her 
to separate herself from ungodly associates, he re- 



88 LIFE OF H. PAGE. 

ceived a reply, inquiring what, in existing circun> 
stances, she should do ? His answer is as follows : 

" Saturday evening, March 8, 1817. 

" Dear Friend, — As to the company at % 

I did not complain of your conduct there ; but fear- 
ed the consequences of frequenting such company. 
May I ask, Was God in all your thoughts ? Did you 
speak a word for Christ ? Did you obey the precept, 
'Be not conformed to this world V 

" You ask, ' Must I not associate with any young 
people of my age V I answer, do it just so far as you 
can and act the part of a decided Christian, or do 
good to souls. But when you find yourself overcome 
by temptation ; indifferent to those follies and sins 
which once would have shocked you ; violating your 
former resolutions, and with no evidence of benefit 
to your associates, wisdom and duty doubtless unite 
in deciding that you should break away from them 
without delay. A Christian must have uncommon 
grace in exercise, not to be injured by such company. 
And besides, it brings great reproach on religion. 
The world are keen-eyed to see the faults of Chris- 
tians, and at once judge that, if they join in such 
amusements, their profession is but hypocrisy. 

" You have attended one such place of amuse- 
ment ; and can you reflect on it now with pleasure ? 
Was it profitable to your soul ? Suppose all the 
members of this church should join in a sleigh-ride, 



LAMENTS HIS COLDNESS. 39 

and tarry at a public house till midnight, partaking 
of the intoxicating bowl, and making merry with 
those around them — what would be said of religion ? 
And why more improper for the whole than for one ? 
" I ask you again to consider that you are young, 
and may be drawn aside unawares. In a time of 
such declension as the present, we are all in danger. 
Consider how you would have viewed these things 
when you first felt the love of Christ in your heart. 
" As ever, your friend, H. Page.' 

June 18, we find him thus writing bitter things 
against himself: 

" Sabbath, P. M. 5 o'clock. 
" Long have I neglected to record my religious 
exercises ; and long have I lived, a formal profes- 
sor of religion. I have forgotten my Savior, wan- 
dered from his sheep-fold, and grown unconcern- 
ed about my danger. While I write, I fear I have 
no true penitence. All is cold indifference and 
dead formality. The word of God is not to me a 
delight as it once was ; its beauties are hid, and its 
promises and threatenings glided over unheeded and 
unapplied. I fear and believe this Sabbath has been 
improved by me to no spiritual advantage. Thus 
pass away my days, beclouded with sin, without en 
gagedness in Zion's cause, without gratitude to my 
Savior, or obedience to his precepts. 



40 LIFE OF H. PAGE. 

" O thou blessed Jesus ! I have forgotten thy love ; 
have strayed from thee. I desire to humble myself 
with true repentance before thee. Help me to return 
from my backsliding ; quicken me in duty ; show 
me my ingratitude and my sins. May I fear to of- 
fend thee, and live henceforward to thy glory." 

August 17, he thus addressed an impenitent fe- 
male relative : 

" Dear Sister, — I think much of you, and long 
to see you in the ark of safety. Have you reason to 
hope that your sins are pardoned through a Savior's 
blood? If not, consider your danger. O, Emeline, 
if you have not chosen God for your portion, you 
*are every moment exposed to the torments of eternal 
despair. Should death now call you, you must sink 
4 where their worm dieth not, and the fire is not 
quenched. 5 Think, dear friend, of the sufferings of 
our ascended Lord. Think of his agony in the gar- 
den — how his head was pierced with thorns — how 
he was reviled by the multitude — how he was led to 
Calvary, and suspended, with nails driven through 
his hands and his feet, in agony, till he yielded up 
the ghost — and all this, dear sister, for such sinners 
as you and me. 

" Shall we — will you despise this love and these 
sufferings? Death is coming apace. O delay not a 
moment to make preparation. Christ is ready to 
pardon every returning penitent — he is ready to re- 



CORRESPONDENCE, 41 

ceive and pardon you. Go then, as a weary and 
heavy laden sinner, implore his mercy, give your- 
self into his arms, and be happy for ever. 

" Please to write your feelings. You need not 
fear to tell them to your affectionate friend, who 
earnestly longs for your happiness in this world 
and the world to come. 

"H. Page." 

Communications under date of January 30, 1818, 
mention that the Pastor of the church had been dis- 
missed, leaving them without a spiritual guide; but 
state that the female members of the church were 
praying, and that two individuals were under deep 
convictions for sin. 

The next communication is addressed to a pious 
friend, endeavoring to impart consolation under the 
partial loss of health, and accompanied by fifty Tracts 
for distribution. 

The next to an impenitent acquaintance, who in 
sickness had been alarmed for his spiritual state, 
begging him to listen to this call from God, and 
portraying the infinite hazard of returning again to 
sin and folly. 

The next is an awakening appeal to a young lady ; 
and its influence may be inferred from the following 
reply, which is given as an example of the state of 
mind of some of the individuals whose eternal wel- 
fare pressed upon our brother's heart. 



42 LIFE OF H. PAGE. 

" Coventry, March 14, 1818. 

(To Mr. H. Pago.) 

" Dear Friend, — Am I one of the happ}^ number 
who can find rest in Jesus' arms ? No. This blessing; 
is too great for such a wretch as I. I can have no rest. 
My way is dark, and leads to hell; I know I deserve 
hell. Can there be*^ny mercy in Christ for such a 
sinner as I am ? O my sins ! my sins ! How many 
thousands and thousands of times have I sinned 
against that just and holy God ! I have been crucify- 
ing the Savior afresh, and still go on adding sin to sin. 
"What an awful condition I am in. If I stay here, I 
shall perish. If I go back to the vanities of the 
world, I shall certainly perish. Now what shall I do? 

" You say I must go to Christ ; but 1 cannot go 
to him. What shall I do to go to him? I must do 
something before I can go to him. I cannot go to 
him with such a wicked heart, and such a hard one. 
1 A broken and contrite heart he will not despise ;' but 
my heart is hard as a stone, and I cannot do any 
thing to better it ; for the more I do, the worse I am. 
I would, but can't repent. Though I endeavor oft, 
this stony heart can never relent till Jesus makes it 
soft. I feel stupid, depd and cold. I cannot see half 
enough of myself; I want to see the very worst of 
my heart. The Bible tells me, if I will confess my 
sins and forsake them, I shall find mercy ; but I do 
not as I ought, for I can do nothing without a high- 
er power than mine. 



DESPAIRING INQUIRER. 43 

4 Please to write again, and believe me your poor 
sinful and perishing friend, A W— — v u 

To this letter he wrote the following answer : 
" Coventry, March 21, 1818. 

(To Miss A W .) 

" True, as you say, you are in an awful condition 
Christ calls yo\x by his Spirit to come to him as a 
weary and heavy laden sinner, that he may give you 
rest ; but your own heart opposes him, and Satan 
would lead you to despair. Thus the great conflict 
bows you down, and you are ready to die. 

" You say your heart is so hard that you cannot 
go to Christ. O ! go to him, and he will break it. Go 
to him with all your pollution ; for you will attempt 
in vain to make your heart better by your own ex- 
ertions. Cry to Jesus to break this heart of stone and 
give you a heart of flesh. Pour out your whole soul 
to him. Take all your burden of sins and leave them 
at his cross. His blood shall cleanse them all away. 
Every thing that keeps you back from Christ is a 
sin that needs to be repented of. 

" You say you cannot repent. Can you not hate 
sin, which has caused you so much sorrow- — loath, 
abhor it, and turn from it ? I beseech you grieve not 
the Spirit by finding fault with God. The guilt and 
the sin are all your own. How long has God spared 
you while rejecting the offers of his mercy ! Those 



44 LIFE OF H. PAGE. 

offers still press upon your heart. If you continue to 
reject them, it is at the peril of your soul. Accept 
them, I entreat you. There is no other way whereby 
you can be saved. 

" Your sincere friend, " H. Page." 

On May 13, 1818, we find the following memo- 
ramdum, embracing a resolution, the spirit of which 
appears habitually to have influenced his mind ; and 
doubtless constituted, under God, the main spring of 
his fidelity and the ground of his success. 

" I have lately had sweet communion with some? 
of my fellow Christians, while we each related our 
particular feelings and exercises. What a happy re- 
sult would follow, were we always, at every opportu- 
nity, to make religion our theme; and not merely 
talk of it in general, but come home to our own souls, 
and unbosom our feelings to each other — our doubts 
and joys, and fears, and woes. I have lately formed a 
resolution, which I pray God to assist me to perform : 
" Resolved, ivhenever possible, to address my 
brethren and sisters on the concerns of eternity, and 
endeavor to stir up both them and myself to dili- 
gence and engagedness in the great work of saving 
souls. 

* Happy news, that any of the dear pupils of my 
school the last winter are brought to see themselves 
undone sinners. The Lord grant that the time may 
be near, when this may be true of every dear youth 



CORRESPONDENCE. 45 

and child among us. May none turn back, but all re- 
solve to find salvation, or perish pleading for mercy." 

" Coventry, June 16, 1818. 

(To Rev. E. T. W , his late Pastor.) 

"Respected and Dear Sir, — Can you believe 
that God is in the midst of us ? Praised be his name, 
that his mercy is not clean gone for ever. Some of our 
youth appear to be under the strivings of the Spirit. 
I have conversed with five whose tears bore witness 
that they were not wholly secure. God only knows 
what will be the result ; but it is fully impressed on 
my mind, that, could I see Christians generally 
earnest at the throne of grace, and engaged in the 
work, we should witness a precious ingathering of 
souls. Do pray for us, that the cloud which seems 
to he hovering over us, may not pass away till it shall 
pour down a refreshing shower upon this people. 

'-'A lew months since, I almost felt that I had no 
more opportunity for usefulness here; but now. I see 
a wide field open before me even in the midst of us. 
Every day presents its calls to be at work for the 
Lord. 

" O for a watchman to stand on these walls ; to 
repair their breaches; and to guide the inquiring 
sinner to Christ, and the humble penitent in the way 
of peace." 

At the same date he writes to another: " I have 
undertaken rather a hard task ; but trust the Lord 



46 LIFE OF H. PAGE. 

will in due time accomplish it. It is to endeavor to 
stir up my brethren and sisters in the church to be 
earnest for a revival of religion. I find in all an 
acknowledged neglect of duty; and in some it is 
mourned over apparently with a godly sorrow. I do 
hope for better times. I have felt an assurance that 
God was about to visit us in mercy." 

It was probably not far from this time, that he 
prepared the following cards, and had them printed 
in a cheap form for distribution. 

" REMEMBER, FELLOW MORTAL, YOU ARE BOUND 
TO ETERNITY ! 

Death will soon overtake you. Heaven and hell are be- 
fore you. Awake, if you would escape the torments of des- 
pair ! Awake, and make your peace with God." 



" MORTAL, CONSIDER ! 

" You are on the borders of eternity. Heaven with all 
its glories, or hell with all its horrors, is before you. If 
you are yet unreconciled to God, I entreat you this day to 
repent and believe on the Lord Jesus Christ — to-morrow you 
may be writhing in the torments of the damned ! Haste, 
haste to him, and he will have mercy upon you, and save 
your soul from eternal death." 



" PRISONER OF HOPE, 

" Behold, He who has the keys of death and hell pro- 
claims liberty to the captives, and the opening of the prison- 
doors to them that are bound ! Listen to the sweet notes of 



RELIGIOUS CARDS. 47 

deliverance. Shake off the galling chains of sin by repent- 
ance and faith in the Lord Jesus Christ, and lay hold on the 
hope set before you. Escape, escape, while the door of mer- 
cy is open — escape, before you are thrust into the inner pri- 
son of everlasting despair." 



" TO-DAY, 

" If you will hear the voice of God, O fellow-sinner, har- 
den not your heart. This night, should you lie down care- 
less in sin, you may awake in an eternal hell. Escape for 
your life. Delay not. ' Now is the accepted time : behold, 
now is the day of salvation V " 



" FELLOW CHRISTIAN, 

"Is it not high time to awake out of sleep ? How many 
of your acquaintance and dear friends are on the broad road 
to death 1 Can you bear to see them hastening down to hell, 
and not cry unto God to have mercy on them, and pluck 
them as brands from the burning 7 O, my friend, the time is 
short. What we do must be done quickly. Death stands at 
the door ; and how dreadful our surprise, if, when he en- 
ters, we be found sleeping !" 

" Sabbath, July 5, 1818. 

(To Miss C R , one of his late pupils.) 

11 How is it now with your immortal soul ? Are 
you yet at enmity with God ? I have long wished 
for an opportunity to make these inquiries, and en- 
treat you to flee from the wrath to come ; but since 
our school closed, .this has been denied me And 
now, in view of your awful danger, and in love to 



48 LIFE OF K. PAGE. 

your soul, permit me once more to press upon you 
the necessity of speedy repentance. 

" O Caroline, while out of Christ, how dreadful 
is your condition ! No ray of hope remains for you, 
if you live and die in this state ; but you must for 
ever lie down in the torments of the damned — for 
ever dwell with devouring fire ! 

44 Will you go on neglecting this precious season t 
when the Holy Spirit is striving among us ? Can 
you rest secure, while your acquaintance and friends 
are anxiously inquiring what they must do to be 
saved ? O, my friend, consider how brief is your 
life. Death lies in ambush ; suddenly the fatal dart 
may be hurled; and if Christ is not yours, your soul 
will be lost. 

" This may be the Spirit's last call. If you now 
reject him, he may return to you no more for ever. 
Will you not take up in earnest the great subject of 
the salvation of your own soul, feel your guilt and 
your danger, and fly to the arms of the blessed Sa- 
vior ? ' Now is the accepted time — now is the day 
of salvation.' Re>?t not one moment till you have 
secured the pearl of great price. Sleep not in sin, 
lest you awake in an eternal hell; where 'ths 
smoke of their torment ascendeth up for ever and 
ever.' O Caroline, repent now, and believe in the 
Lord Jesus Christ, and you shall be saved. 

44 With earnest prayers for you, your friend, 

" H. Page." 



LETTER OF WARNING. 49 

" Friday P. M. July 24, 1818. 

(To Miss E H R .) 

" My Dear Friend, — At your request, I with 
pleasure improve a few moments in writing on the 
concerns of the souL I have trembled, and still 
tremble for you and others. Can it be possible, O 
Eliza, can it be possible, that any, whose attention 
has been awakened, are becoming insensible of their 
danger 1 Can any be so unwise as not to cherish the 
influences of the Spirit while he calls them to repent 
and fly to that refuge, out of which God has de- 
clared himself ' a consuming fire f Can any be dis- 
couraged, while the joys of heaven and the woes of 
the damned are at stake ? 

"Remember, for your consolation, that 'the king- 
dom of heaven sufFereth violence, and the violent take 
it by force.' Go then to the throne of grace, and re- 
solve, with Jacob of old, ' I will not let thee go, ex- 
cept thou bless me.' Every delay is fraught with im- 
minent danger. Every moment you neglect coming 
to Christ your sins are increasing. Will you not 
now cease your opposition, and this night go and 
throw yourself unreservedly on the mercy of Christ % 
Mercy calls. Mercy entreats. O Eliza, go now to 
Christ, and let mercy save you. Don't depend on 
what you do. It will be altogether in vain. Your 
best services need pardon through atoning blood. 
Put on the white robe of Christ's righteousness, and 
5 



50 LIFE OF H. PAGE. 

you shall be happy. I entreat you, my dear friend, 
press on — press on. 

" In great haste, your affectionate friend, 

" H. Page." 

" Coventry, August 7, 1818. 
(To s — k — ) 
" Can you yet calmly submit yourself to Christ ?• 
Have you been to him with all your pollution upon 
you, crying, ' Here am I, a poor undone sinner, 
wholly unworthy of thy favor, justly condemned 
to eternal death ; take me as I am ; Lord, save me, 
or I perish f Can you now, by faith, embrace him 
as your Savior % Is it your earnest desire to do all in 
your power to advance his cause and glory ? Can 
you renounce every worldly object for Christ % If 
so, happy are you. But if not, your case is dreadful 
indeed. Faithfully examine yourself by the word of 
God, and rest not one moment till you have evidence 
that you have chosen that good part which can never 
be taken from you. Be faithful, O be faithful unto 
death. Let nothing turn you from seeking and serv- 
ing the Lord. 

" Your affectionate friend, H. Page." 

The following is one of the requests for his counsel 
and prayers, which he frequently received : 

" Mr. Page, — I need your kind instructions now 
more than ever. I feel willing to r bounce every 



CORRESPONDENCE. 51 

worldly object for Christ. O what is this world ! Time 
is short, eternity is long. I know what I must do: but 
I find a dreadful stubborn heart. Do advise me. 
How shall I get to Christ? I seek for happiness, 
but find none. I fear my companions are growing 
indifferent about their future state. S gets no re- 
lief. Do remember us in your prayers. 

"E. H. R." 

The following was our brother's reply to this af- 
fecting letter : 

"Friday, P. M. Sept. 12, 1818. 

"Friend E , Do you really * feel willing to 

renounce every worldly object for Christ V If this is 
so, you can unreservedly give up all confidence in 
your own doings or righteousness, all love of sin ; 
and Christ has indeed found the chief place in your 
heart. But beware of a false hope ; you had better 
spend all your days in despondence, than find at last 
that you were self-deceived. 

'* You speak of a stubborn heart. Ah, E , I 

know what you mean. This heart has felt that dread, 
ful opposition to our dear Redeemer, who gave him- 
self to be crucified that we might live. How ungrate- 
ful ! How astonishing, that such love should be re- 
quited thus ! My friend, how can you help loving 
him, who has done so much for you % How can 
you help giving your heart to him, who invites you 
in such sweet accents of mercy ? 



52 LIFE OF H. PAGE. 

" You ask, < How shall I go to Christ V Go just 
as you are, with no delay to make yourself better. 
Go humble, penitent, believing. Go to him as you- 
only refuge, (for you have found all others fail,) and 
be assured he will receive you. You will go. It 
seems to me you cannot help it. My poor prayers 
are poured out to God for you. 

" With sincere affection, 

"H. Page." 

To a cousin in P , N. Y. he wrote respecting 

their friends and the state of religion, mentioning 
that the church had observed a day of fasting and 
prayer for the outpouring of the Spirit ; and then 
proceeds in endeavors to do good to -the person ad- 
dressed, to his family, and those around him : 

" You have not yet, it seems, taken hold of the 
promises of the Gospel ; not yet laid down the wea- 
pons of your rebellion. But will you not submit to 
Christ? O, consider his agony in the garden and on 
the cross — and for whom was all this ? It was, d^ar 
Sir, for you, if you will not reject his bleeding love; 
for you, his sweat was as it were blood ; for you, 
he was scourged and buffeted ; for you, he ascended 
the hill of Calvary ; for you, he was nailed to the 
cross ; for you, he was forsaken of God ; for you, 
he yielded up the ghost. 

" Now, can you say you will not accept the salva 
tion purchased by such sufferings? Will you disre 



TO A COUSIN. 53 

gard the invitations and entreaties of this bleeding 
Savior, and go on crucifying him afresh ! O you 
will not, you cannot despise and reject such love- — 
you will not be guilty of such black ingratitude. 
^ " If you have not already done it, I beseech you 
go now to Jesus as a heavy laden sinner ; go as a 
self condemned criminal; offer yourself to him, a 
living sacrifice ; and find rest to your soul. 

" Does your companion, my dear cousin, know 
by sweet experience how precious is the Savior's 
love ? She has been brought to the borders of the 
grave. Was it indeed dark ; or did the Son of God 
enlighten the prospect, and stand as her conductor to 
eternal glory ? My dear cousin, let it not be in vain 
that you are spared. Be wise for eternity. Make 
the Savior your friend and portion. 

" Will Christians around you make this world 
their God, and do nothing for the salvation of perish- 
ing sinners ? How is it possible that any who have 
tasted the love of God can rest, while on every 
side sinners are thoughtlessly going down to hell? 

Christians in P must awake. Their work is 

great, and their time is short. While they are sleep- 
ing in neglect of effectual fervent prayer, they are, 
by their neglect, peopling the world of perdition. But 
though Christians sleep, sinners have no excuse. 
They know their Master's will, and do it not. 

" How is it with Joseph and Daniel? Are they 
yet in the ark of safety ? Tell them the floods of 
5* 



54 LIFE OF H. PAGE. 

Divine wrath are fast accumulating', and unless they 
repent they must likewise perish. 

" Your affectionate friend and cousin, 

" H. Page." 

In replying to this letter some months after, his cou- 
sin says : *'• When your letter was received, it wr.s a 
dagger to my soul ; but now, my dear cousin, It /link 
I know something by experience of the excellency of 
religion, and the peace there is in casting all my 
burdens on him who cares for us. Within a few 
weeks, I have taken real satisfaction in reading that 
kind letter. I thank you for it. Do now write me 
again." 



CHAPTER III. 



RESIDENCE OF TWO MONTHS IN BOSTON, AND 
NEARLY THREE YEARS IN COVENTRY. 

The shock which the constitution of Mr. Page 
received in his severe illness in 1814, partially dis- 
abled him from pursuing the more laborious me- 



AT BOSTON. 55 

chanical employments; and in October, 1818, he 
visited Boston, and spent a few weeks in writing up 
the books of a mercantile house, hoping* to see some 
opening- in which he might engage in engraving, to 
which he seems to have had a native predilection, or 
in teaching. His letters to his family serve to show 
how his Christian character was developed in the 
new circumstances in which he was then placed, in 
the heart of a bustling city. 

11 Boston, Saturday evening, Oct. 17, 1818. 

(To Mrs. Page.) 

" I have had occasion to sympathize this even- 
ing with my hostess, a widow whose only son 
has this day sailed for Brazil. A few days since, 
he said to his mother : ' There is my Bible, I 
must take that.' I gave him a few Tracts, with 
which he was much gratified. His mother has 
scarcely tasted food to-day. Her life has been a se- 
ries of trouble ; but I fear it has not all brought her 
to Christ. I also gave a few Tracts to the captain of 
a vessel sailing for Africa, who thinks them very 
useful among seamen. 

" You can have no idea of the wickedness which 
prevails here. Though much is doing for the cause 
of Zion, thousands in Boston live like the heathen, 
profaning and blaspheming the name of Gffid. When 
I look around and see so many souls hastening to 
destruction, I am led to inquire, Is there no help ? 



56 LIFE OF H. PAGE. 

Will not Christians awake ? and will not the Lord 
come down with his mighty power and shake the 
multitude of evil doers ? 

" Last Sabbath morning heard Rev. Mr. D , 

from ' Let me die the death of the righteous,' &c. 
His object was to prove that impenitent sinners do 
not really wish the pure joys and employments of 
heaven, which he did most clearly. Dined with Mr. 

D H , and then accompanied him to the 

Sabbath School ; and it was a most interesting and 
animating spectacle. This was the first Sabbath 
School established in Boston, and contains about 70 
or 75 scholars. It was opened with prayer by the 
superintendent, and then the recitations began. 
Three of the scholars recited Scripture to me, two of 
whom had committed to memory about 120 verses 
each, since the last Sabbath. I took the opportunity 
to speak to them on the concerns of their souls, di- 
recting my conversation to one at first, but the others 
immediately crowded up as if eager to hear. The 
school is closed with singing, when the scholars ac- 
company their instructers to church. To-morrow I 
expect to visit the school again, and learn more of 
the methods of proceeding." 

After describing various meetings which he at- 
tended du§ing the week, he thus proceeds : 

" Is there no more prospect of an awakening in 
Coventry? Will sinners — can they continue to rush 



AT BOSTON. 57 

headlong to ruin ? Will the church still sleep ? How 
astonishing ! Shall we who love Christ be uncon- 
cerned for ou£ fellow-beings who are hastening to 

despair? I wish to see S and E , (to whom 

he had written as above,) to tell them again to re- 
pent and believe in Jesus. 

" Sabbath evening. This morning I attended Rev. 
Mr. Paul's meeting, and heard a colored preacher 
from the words, ' If we sin, we have an Advocate,' 
&c. Thence again to the Sabbath School, where I 
found the male and female schools assembled in one 
room. Upwards of two hundred children were pre- 
sent, and many of their parents who had been invited 
to attend. After prayer, animating addresses were 
delivered to the parents and children. Some of the 
parents were in tears. 

" In the afternoon, heard a very solemn discourse 
from the words, 'What must I do to be saved?' 
The singing was excellent. You know English 
and other scientific music is condemned as being too 
slow, and wanting life. This may be true as it is 
sometimes performed ; but as sung here, it is full ot 
spirit. The words are spoken distinctly, and there 
is far more animation and expression than w r e usu 
ally hear. 

" I meet with some trials here, which I hope will 
be for my good. Two Universalist ministers are 
dragging many, I fear, with themselves down to 
hell. Do let us, my dear wife, be doing. Life will 



£8 LIFE OF H. PAGE. 

soon close; and O the condemnation of being- found 
unprofitable servants. Do not delay to write. 

11 With many prayers for yourself and the babes, 

" H. Page. 5 ' 

"Boston, Sabbath evening, Nov. 1, 1818. 

(To the same.) 

" Last Sabbath morning I heard the Rev. Dr. 
Worcester, of Salem ; and in the afternoon,*Rev. Mr. 
J , at the Seaman's church. In the evening at- 
tended a prayer-meeting consisting chiefly of sailors, 
and at the close conversed freely with several, who 
begged me to come again. 

During the day / met a sailor on the wharf, who 
told me he had been a prisoner at Newfoundland, 
and was put upon trial; but nothing was found 
against him, and he was liberated. I told him we 
must meet another and more solemn trial in the day 
of judgment, when, without an interest in Christ, 
we must be condemned eternally. He was silent. 
I entreated him to think of these things, and be pre- 
pared ; for they were near at hand. 

" This morning and afternoon I have heard the 
Rev. Levi Parsons, who is going on a mission to 
Jerusalem. He appears much engaged for the sal- 
vation of souls, and preaches faithfully the terrors ot 
the Lord. What an interesting field is this for the 
man of God ! May the smiles of heaven attend him 
and his companion in labors, who are to be ordained 



AT BOSTON. 59 

the present week. May they be made instruments 
of renewing the pure worship of that Savior who 
there suffered for man's redemption. 

" Monday evening, 9 d clock. Just returned from 
the monthly concert, and have been richly entertain- 
ed. Mr. Evarts communicated a great deal of in- 
teresting intelligence, chiefly respecting the missions 
among the Cherokees and Choctaws. Your heart 
would have been made joyful in hearing it. Many 
very encouraging and interesting incidents were 
mentioned. At the close, a contribution was taken 
up for the mission at Jerusalem." 

"Boston, Nov. 7, 1818. 

(To the same.) 

" When I read your remark, that God has evi- 
dently a controversy with the church in Coventry, 
my tears involuntarily flowed. O how dreadful, 
that a church should hinder the salvation of souls ! 
And those dear ones who have long been inquiring — 
how affecting to consider that hardly any, even of 
professed Christians, seem to care whether they go 
to destruction or not ! And can this be so? Alas ! 
what reason have we to think otherwise ? 

" I have just passed through a most affecting 
scene. On last Sabbath evening I went alone to the 
house where I had attended a prayer-meeting a week 
previous ; but found there was no meeting, and that, 
under the same roof, a man was very sick. His 



60 LIFE OF H. PAGE. 

wife, who is pious, appeared grateful for my call* 
gave me an account of their circumstances, and in- 
formed me that her husband had been a professed 
Universalist ; but of late she thought his confidence 
in that error was shaken ; though he would fre- 
quently argue the subject with her and others, even 
on his sick, and, she feared, his dying bed, She in- 
formed him I was present, and asked if he wished 
prayer. He said he did. I told him I would com- 
ply — remarking that, as he seemed near to death, 
he must probably soon meet the eternal God, and 
asking if he felt prepared. He intimated that he did. 

" ' Do you think you have experienced that change 
of heart which is spoken of in the word of God as 
essential to salvation V 

"'Have I repented of my sins,' (said he to him- 
self,) 'and believed on the Lord Jesus Christ?' 

" ' Do you love Christ V said I. * Is he the one al- 
together lovely?' 

" ' Yes, he is lovely to me. I hope to be saved bv 
him.' 

u ' Do you believe all will be saved by .Christ V 

" ' Yes, I think so.' 

" ' What do you think of the passage, These shall 
go away into everlasting punishment?' 

41 ' I cannot tell what it means.' 

" ' We read also, The wicked shall be turned into 
hell, and all the nations that forget God.' 

* ' Then,' said he, ' I must go there.' 






VISITS A DEATH-BED. 61 

11 He seemed somewhat exhausted, and I was about 
to close my interview, when he again asked me to 
pray with him. 

" ■ What petition shall I offer V said I. ' Shall I 
ask that your heart may be changed V 

" ' Yes,' said he, ' and that I may be purified.' 

11 Neighbors in the house were called in, and pray- 
er was made in his behalf, amidst sobs and tears. His 
wife begged me to call again, which I did, with Mr. 
D. a young clergyman. He was evidently declining, 
but gave us no more satisfaction respecting his state. 

" After we left him, he had much conversation 

with Rev. Mr. J , and expressed his conviction 

of his ruin by sin ; his renunciation of all the former 
grounds of his hope; his reliance solely upon Christ, 
and his peace and joy in him. He died the follow- 
ing day. His wife had long prayed earnestly for his 
conversion : and at last, when she had almost given 
him up as lost, had the satisfaction of seeing him 
give such evidence as he could in his last hours, thai 
he fell asleep in Jesus," 

His next letter is dated at Coventry, Feb. 13, 1819, 
and expresses his joy, tlat, on the 10th of the follow 
ing month, the Rev. G. &. C was to be ordain- 
ed as pastor. 

" Saturday evening. — This day I have endeavor- 
ed to observe as a day of humiliation, fasting, and 
prayer for the outpouring of the Spirit. I find so 
much in me that is unhumbled, that I have reason to 
6 



62 LIFE OF H PAGE. 

fear the day has been spent in vain. Several now 
appear anxious for their souls. God grant that they 
may be brought to bow submissive at the feet of 
Jesus, and that the hearts of Christians may be pre- 
pared for the special presence of God among us. O 
what shall be done in this stubborn, unyielding 
frame of mind!" 

Within the progress of a few weeks his heart 
was cheered and refreshed by a visit, with his belov- 
ed pastor, to a church some miles distant, which was 
enjoying a precious revival of religion. 

" As I entered the sanctuary, (he says,) joy beamed 
in the countenances of numbers, while others seem- 
ed borne down with a heavy load. Solemn silence 
reigned, interrupted only by occasional sighs and 
tears. Every eye was fixed, and every ear listening 
as to a message from the Lord. When the service 
closed, several remained to converse on the subject 
of their salvation. 

" They dispersed for a little time ; and at sunset 
the youth were seen assembling in groups, till the 
room was filled with near 200 immortal beings. All 
was silent as the house of death. The most profound 
attention evinced that the Lord was there. When 
the exercises were closed, and the blessing pro- 
nounced, not one moved to leave the house. All 
stood and seemed to say, * We cannot go. Tell us 
more of Christ, and how to gain an interest in hi* 
atoning blood.' 



APPEAL TO YOUTH. 63 

"After a few moments, the minister, who had ad- 
dressed them, began to converse with an individual 
near him; but all seemed eager to press forward, 
that they might hear for their own benefit. None ap- 
peared indifferent. Solemnity, sorrow, or joy was 
depicted in every countenance. The audience were 
seated, and nearly all in the house were addressed 
individually in reference to their own personal sal- 
vation. None wished to avoid being questioned, or 
being warned that, unless they repented of their sins 
and fled to Christ by a living faith, they must be lost." 
This account Mr. Page embodied in an anony- 
mous paper sent in with others to be read in the 
"Biblical School," in Coventry, in which a large 
number of youth united for the study of the Bible, 
and mutual, intellectual, moral and religious im- 
provement. 

" Our minister (he adds) has seen among another 
people anxious souls flocking to Christ. What must 
have been his reflections, surrounded by such a 
crowd of inquirers, as he turned his thoughts to his 
own flock — his church cold and languid — the youth 
thoughtless and gay, pressing on their way to eternal 
despair ! How must his heart have sunk within him ! 
" And shall he find no inquiring souls here ? Shall 
his heart never be gladdened by hearing the earnest 
inquiry, * What must we do to be saved V Shall we 
suffer him to go mourning all the day over so many 
hurrying to perdition? Shall we suffer ourselves to 



64 LIFE OF H. PAGE. 

be lulled in security, and thus be e-ternally ruined ? 
O it is time, it is high time to awake." 

Having received a fresh supply of Tracts, he im- 
mediately enclosed two of them to impenitent friends, 
in notes, of which the following is one: 

" June 22, 1819 

(To L. S.) 

" Dear Brother, — Will you and your compa- 
nion oblige me so much as to give the enclosed an at- 
tentive perusal before you go to rest this night ? I have 
just received it, and feel peculiarly anxious that you 
should prayerfully consider the all-important subject 
it presents. 

"With earnest solicitude for your eternal wel- 
fare, I am your brother, 

"H. Page." 

The season of God's mercy was indeed at hand 
On the 20th of June he thus wrote to Mrs. W : 

" My Dear Friend, — I have delayed till I can do 
it no longer. I know the joy you will feel at the re- 
pentance of sinners in Coventry. When I wrote you 
iast, all was gloomy, except the prospect that God 
was about to place over us a spiritual guide. He has 
been indefatigable. For a time all apjrfauded, but 
none seemed to be moved. 

"A meeting of the church was called, when all 



REVIVAL. 65 

the male members were questioned with regard to 
their feelings. All confessed criminal coldness and 
want of spiritual life. The question was then put, 
* Are we not called to make some special exertions 
that the work of God may be revived V This was ac 
knowledged, and it was agreed to hold prayer meet- 
ings in different neighborhoods. 

" Two weeks after, another meeting was called, 
which • all who felt anxious for a revival of religion 
were invited to attend.' This led to self-examination. 
'Shall I go V was the language of many. ' I cannot 
say I am one of those invited, but I dare not stay 
away.' Members of the church and others attended, 
and the meeting was full. The time was spent in ex- 
hortation and prayer, and some signs of life appeared. 

" The next week a similar meeting was held, 
when every one who chose it was conversed with in- 
dividually, and it appeared that some were inquiring. 

A work of grace was then progressing in B , 

and had now entered our borders. 

" A few of the church appear to be engaged. 
They found that they had wandered far, very far from 
God. Conversation meetings for inquirers are held 

weekly. Mr. and Mrs. G are now rejoicing in 

the Lord. Mrs. R , Miss M W — -, and 

Miss J are indulging a hope. The progress of 

the work has seemed to be exactly in accordance 

with the spirituality, the prayers and exertions of 

Christians. Sometimes the prospect looks dark, 

6* 



66 LIFE OF H. PAGE. 

but at others more encouraging*. It is the Lord's 
work, and he alone can carry it on. The hopes of 
many professors of religion are shaken. Our minis- 
ter has repeatedly told us, that if we cannot be en- 
gaged in such a time as this, we had better con- 
clude that we are not Christians. 

" Yesterday Rev. Mr. N preached twice in 

different neighborhoods. I could say a great deal, 
but must not add. 

"With Christian affection, your friend, 

"H. Page." 

Under date of July 9, in a hasty note to a friend, 
he says : " We have such a season here as we never 
had before : the Lord is doing wonders, and we hope 
and believe he is about to work still greater. Could 

you see the change wrought in S , (referred to 

December, 1815, and June, 1819,) you would be de- 
lighted. He seems indeed like one new born, through 
the energies of the Holy Ghost." 

Mr. Page always regarded a season of the out- 
pouring of the Holy Spirit as the harvest time of 
souls ; and it is hard to say whether his holy joy in 
God, his amazing sense of responsibility, his impoi- 
tunate prayers, or incessant efforts, most abounded. 
He seems to have been so intently engaged in pro- 
moting the work, that he made only a few brief no- 
aces of what was passing, with his pen. Among 
hese is a list of seventy -nine individuals who in that 



SOLEMN APPEAL. 67 

revival obtained hope in Christ ; sixty-six of whom 
were added to the church. 

On the 9th of August he thus addressed a young 
woman, whose case he seems to have considered al- 
most hopeless : 

" An affectionate regard for your immortal inte- 
rests has induced me to write a few lines, though I 
know not that they will be welcome or beneficial. 
While others have been accepting Christ, I have 
anxiously hoped to hear the same of you. Shall no 
Christian's heart be cheered by such intelligence? 
Shall neither man nor God hear from your lips : 
' O my sins, my sins, I fear they will ruin my soul 
for ever V Shall no prayer, ' God be merciful to me 
a sinner,' break from your heart ? 

" I know you would not dare make light of the 
influences of the Holy Spirit; and is there not evi- 
dence sufficient to convince the most obstinate that 
the Lord is indeed among us % Who then will be on 
the Lord's side % Will you not come as a humble 
penitent, and cast yourself at his feet ? Will you not 
now, by faith in Christ, become a friend of God, and 
an heir of glory ? 

; ' May I not hope that you are now determined to 
break your league with sin and the enemy of souls, 
before the impending storm of God's wrath shall fall 
upon vou, when the only answer to your despairing 
cry shall be, for ever — for ever — for ever ! O 
do not let a deceitful heart beguile fou. You have 



68 LIFE OF H. PAGE. 

a soul at stake worth millions of worlds, and which 
must live eternally in the joys of heaven or the 
agonies of hell. On no other subject should I ad- 
dress you, but on the momentous concerns of the 
soul you will not feel that I need apologize for the 
performance of duty. 

" With esteem, your friend, H. Page." 

In a letter, September 20, he says: " It is uncertain 
whether I go to Boston this fall. / cannot leave this 
interesting field of exertion and scent of wonders" 

A subsequent letter, chiefly occupied with state- 
ments respecting the revival, contains the following 
paragraph : 

"In the midst of mercy, God has recently remind- 
ed us, by a most afflictive providence, that youth is 
with many the only time for securing the salvation 

of the soul. O P , aged twenty-two, about 

two weeks since was called into eternity. But he 
died in faith, as we trust. He was hopefully convert- 
ed the summer past, just in time to escape the wrath 
to come" 

To a communication from S L , express 

ing renewed anxiety for himself as a sinner, and re- 
questing Mr. Page's prayers and counsel, he thus 
replied : 

" Coventry, Wth Dec. 1819 
" My dear Sir, — It is with peculiar satisfaction 



SOLEMN APPEAL. 69 

that I improve the opportunity you have given me to 
address you on the momentous interests of your own 
soul. You have frankly disclosed your feelings, and 
I am unusually anxious that you should cast your 
burdens on the Lord, and give him your whole 
heart. You are now at an awful crisis. Your eter- 
nal all may depend on the course you take. The 
Lord has taught you by his Spirit, that you are a 
wretched, perishing sinner. You feel that you have 
no preparation for heaven, and see nothing before 
you but eternal wo. O my friend, there is a refuge. 
The Lord Jesus invites, in melting strains, ' Look to 
me, and live. Come unto me, and find rest.' O, go to 
him now, as you value your precious, immortal soul. 

" But you ask, * How shall I go to him with this 
hard impenitent heart ?' Christ, my friend, is ready 
to soften and sanctify it by his own blood. Go to 
him just as you are — poor — needy — empty — wretch- 
ed — only go to him. His grace is free. It will be 
his joy now to receive you. And will you not go % 
O make now one determined effort in the strength 
of God. Break through all opposition from within 
and from without. Cast yourself at the feet of Jesus, 
and cry, ' Lord, save me, or I perish.' 

" Your dear friend went to Christ, and is now, we 
trust, in heaven. Follow his example in loving the 
Savior, and you may follow him to glory. Death to 
him was welcome, so it may be to you. There was 
a fullness in Christ for him, so there is for you* 



70 LIFE OF H. PAGE. 

The blessed fountain is set open, and whosoever will 
may * take of the waters of life freely.' 

"May I not indulge the hope and expectation, 
that, before you shall lay down this sheet, you will 
;iave made the successful resolve, and fled for refuge 
to the ark of safety ; and that, when next we meet, 
you will tell me what glorious things God has done 
for your soul % O my friend, God has said his Spirit 
shall not always strive. I fear, should you delay a 
little longer, he will depart from you, never to return. 

11 With earnest prayer for you, your affectionate 
friend, 

"H. Page. 51 

" Coventry, Friday evening, Dec. 24, 1819 

(To Miss J A L .) 

" I am very anxious to know how you are now. 
Are you yet rejoicing in hope ; or have you turned 
again to the follies of this flattering and deceitful 
world ? O my friend, I long to hear from you. I long 
to hear that you have chosen that good part which 
shall never be taken aw^ay. Have you, do tell me, have 
you forgotten our last interview ? Have you perform- 
ed the sacred promise to give yourself and your all 
to Christ % Have ^ t ou submitted to his will, and de- 
termined to die a beggar at his feet 1 Do write me 
immediately. I wait, impatient to hear. Resist temp- 
tation. Quench not the Spirit. Pray without ceasing. 



MOTIVES TO PIETY. 1l 

Repent and believe in the Lord Jesus Christ, and you 
shall be saved. 

" I am now keeping- school — some encouraging 
prospects among my scholars. Friends feel anxious 
for you. I can assure you, you have many fervent 
petitions ascending from the heart to God in your 
behalf. 

" With much affection, your friend and cousin, 

" H. Page." 

Of his efforts for the eternal welfare of the pupils 
of his school, a Christian friend says, in a letter 
written since his death, " a number of ladies, who, 
when in youth, attended this school, still feel under 
great obligations to him and to God for his faithful 
and untiring efforts for their salvation, and attribute 
their conversion, under God, to his instrumentality" 

So much was his mind engrossed with the subject 
of the salvation of the young, that in January he pre- 
pared an article, in which were clustered some of 
the motives to early piety; which, in the hope 
that it would meet the eye of those under his care, 
and others, he sent for insertion in the Guardian, a 
small and useful monthly periodical. We retain 
enough of the article to show what place this subject 
held in the mind and heart of the wiiter. 

"My dear young Friend, — While I see so 
many youth hastening unprepared to eternity, I can- 
not forbear calling to you to stop for a moment, and 



72 life of h. page. 

consider what affecting motives urge you to maka 
your peace with God. 

" Your Christian friends earnestly desire your 
salvation. They see your danger. They know that, 
unless your heart is renewed by the Holy Spirit, 
your soul must be lost. They plead with you. They 
weep and pray for you night and day. They long to 
rejoice over you as a new-born heir of heaven. 

" The angels of God desire your salvation. Yes, 
their golden harps are tuned to raise a louder song 
of joy over every one who will repent. Will you not 
be the first to cause the arches of heaven to re-echo, 
that another wanderer has returned ? Shall angels 
long for your salvation, and you be unconcerned 
about it yourself? But more, 

" Christ himself desires your salvation. For this 
he became ' a man of sorrows and acquainted with 
grief.' For this he endured the agony of the garden 
and the cross. He calls you, by his word, by his 
providence, and by his Spirit. He declares that he 
1 is not willing that any should perish, but that all 
should come to repentance.' And shall he call in 
vain ? Is it nothing to you, that he shed his precious 
blood, and bore the wrath of Jehovah for perishing 
sinners ? O heart of adamant, that will not melt in 
view of such condescension, suffering, and love ! C 
vile ingratitude, that can behold, unmoved, the 'Son 
of God in tears,' offering himself for man's redemp- 
tion ! 



MOTIVES TO PIETY. 73 

" Consider also the glories of heaven. There is the 
throne of God and of the Lamb. There, the pure 
river of the water of life for ever flows. There, saints 
and angels offer their unceasing praises. There, 
your departed Christian friends mingle their voices 
with the heavenly choir. There, all unite in shout- 
ing * Alleluia, Alleluia, for the Lord God omnipotent 
reigneth.' ' Blessing, and honor, and glory, and pow- 
er be unto him that sitteth on the throne, and unto the 
Lamb for ever and ever.' There, every humble peni- 
tent at last arrives. There, is the consummation of all 
his happiness. 

44 Think too of the misery of hell. O the horrors 
of despair ! What pencil can paint, or what pen de- 
scribe them ! Weeping, and wailing, and gnashing 
of teeth constitute the horrid discord of the abodes of 
the damned. There the stings of a guilty conscience, 
that worm that never dies ; heart-rending reflections 
on murdered time ; the view of saints in glory afar 
off; the surrounding gloom of the infernal pit ; un- 
availing lamentations and despair, all conspire to 
render their misery complete. O, * who can dwell 
with devouring fire ? Who can inhabit everlasting 
burnings V 

41 Consider the worth of the soul. Its value can be 
measured only by eternity. When millions of mil- 
lions of ages shall have rolled away, your soul will 
still be active, and its capacity to suffer or enjoy for 

ever increasing. 

7 



74 LIFE OF H. PAGE. 

"Death is rapidly approaching. Perhaps this 
night you will close your eyes to wake in eternity. 
Thousands have been thus surprised. How many of 
your companions are gone, never to return ! Their 
state is fixed. They are now enduring the wrath of 
God, or singing his praises in the paradise above. 
Whoever you are, you may be assured that death is 
nigh to you. To him you must yield, willing or 
unwilling ; and eternal wo must be your doom, un 
less you haste to Christ, the only refuge from the 
impending storm. 

" The day of judgment is at hand. Soon the loud 
trump of the archangel will awake the sleeping 
dead ; and you among them will come forth to * the 
resurrection of life,' or ' the resurrection of damna- 
tion. ' Then the Savior, whom you have loved, or 
despised, will appear in the clouds of heaven, to give 
to every one 'according as his work shall be.' Be- 
fore him you must stand with assembled millions, 
while he bids you depart, or welcomes you to a seat 
at his right hand. 

" Other motives might be urged, but if these will 
not awaken you to a sense of your danger, others 
would be unavailing. Now you have a day of grace. 
Now the saints are praying for you ; the angels of 
God wait to rejoice over you ; the Lord Jesus Christ, 
by his word and by his Spirit, is entreating you to 
come ; the glories of heaven are offered you ; the 
miseries of hell are unveiled to your view; while 



CORRESPONDENCE. 75 

the worth of your soul, the rapid approach of death 
and judgment, urge you to make haste — to escape 
for your life from the destruction that awaits you. 
O my young friend, as you value your eternal well- 
being, I beseech you awake from this slumber. 
Arise and go to Jesus. Go to him a humble beggar ; 
go penitent and believing. None such were ever 
sent empty away. While you tarry, your sins are 
accumulating, your danger is increasing. Delay a 
little longer, and your soul, your precious, immor- 
tal soul, is lost for ever.' 1 

"Coventry, afttr school, Friday, March 10, 1820. 

(To Miss J A L .) 

" Your letter gave me peculiar pleasure, as it con- 
tained expressions of a hope that you have passed 
from death unto life. Yet when we consider the de- 
ceitfulness of the heart, and the temptations of the 
adversary, it becomes us to rejoice with trembling. 
Is Christ indeed precious to you ? O happy soul ! 
Happy even in the midst of adversity ; happy in 
life, happy in death, and happy for ever. I long to 
know more particularly what is your state, and 
what have been your exercises, both before and 
since your conversion. Let me entreat you to be 
faithful to your own soul and to God. Seek also the. 
eternal welfare of your companions. You know not 
how much you may yet do, which God shall make 
the means of saving souls. 

•' Your friend, H. Page." 



76 LIFE OF H. PAGE. 

w Wednesday evening, April 4. — This day has 
been observed as a day of fasting, humiliation and 
prayer, and has been a solemn and interesting sea- 
son. Several clergymen of the vicinity were with 
us ; having commenced visiting the churches in suc- 
cession. Each minister present prayed, and address 
ed the crowded assembly ; and the members of the 
church expressed, by rising, their solemn deter- 
mination to be faithful, and live more in accord- 
ance with their profession. It is supposed that about 
half of the towns in this state are now visited with a 
special out-pouring of ike Holy Spirit. We cannot 
but hope that God will also appear for us in mercy, 
though I do not know of one serious inquirer. God 
grant that his own people may arise fo duty, the im- 
penitent be alarmed, and that there may be a rich 
ingathering of souls." 

On the 16th he addressed a young friend, to whom, 
it appears he had agreed to write, first on the sub- 
ject of education and mental improvement, and then 
on " the ' one thing needful, 1 without which all other 
acquisitions are vain" — requesting in return " a free 
expression of opinions and feeling on both subjects 11 
In the reply, the former subject seems to be wholly 
overlooked. 

" The deep interest which you have manifested for 
my immortal soul," says the writer, " I can never, 
no, never forget. I have thought much on the con- 



CHRISTIAN ACTION. 77 

tents of your letter. I am deeply sensible that reli- 
gion alone is worth living for. You will probably 
say, * then why not embrace it V I can only reply 
that it is owing entirely to the wickedness of my 
heart, which has long been pursuing the pleasures 
of the world. If I perish, I know I have nothing to 
plead in excuse for rejecting the offers of mercy. 
I feel in need of your advice, and beg you not to 
forget me when interceding at the throne of grace. 
" Yours respectfully, 

" C H H ." 

On the 16th April he commenced a correspon- 
dence with A. K., a beloved relative now in the 
ministry, for their mutual benefit in reference both 
to the present and a future life. In this letter he says : 

" You complain of insensibility to the great con- 
cerns of eternity ; and, my friend, you are not alone 
in this. I know of no better way to be delivered 
from it, than to go forward in every known duty, 
relying on the aids of the Holy Spirit. It appears 
that this is the best means of promoting a revival of 
religion in our own hearts, and of being useful to 
others. Let us, dear brother, be more active. How 
many of our acquaintance, over whom we may per- 
haps have influence, have 2ve left without faithfully 
performing our duty to their souls ! We know that 
without religion they are lost. Let us then act ac* 
cordingly." 



78 LIFE OF H. PAGE. 

One expression in the above clearly implies, that, 
faithful as he had been, there was present before his 
mind, not the many he had warned, but the great 
number remaining, for whose salvation he had indi- 
vidually done nothing effectual. 

The following attempt to reach the heart of a 
yo\I*ig man whom he highly esteemed, but who 
was o^ly 'almost persuaded to be a Christian,' af- 
fords another illustration of the manner in which he 
carried out his desires and purposes to do good. 

Coventry, Friday evening, April 20, 1821. 
(To Mr. c. P.) 

M My Dear Friend — I think I feel more and 
more interested in your welfare, and anxious that 
you may be useful, especially in promoting the sal- 
vation of men. But without the hope that you are 
yourself interested in the Savior's love, how can you 
labor for the salvation of others ? Were your tongue 
unloosed, and your heart warm with love to God and 
souls, how might you take your companions by the 
hand, and entreat them, in Christ's stead, to be re- 
conciled to God ! How would you retire to your 
closet and agonize in prayer in their behalf! When- 
ever you looked upon them, how would your heart 
swell within you, from a sense of their danger ! 
How would you weep in secret places over their 
impenitence, and dreadful indifference to eternal 
things. 



IN JEWETT CITY. 79 

" But, alas ! for tnis you are not prepared. No 
one has ever heard you entreating sinners to flee 
from the wrath to come — no humble prayer has 
ever ascended from your heart to God in their be- 
half. My friend, if you or I ever do any thing for 
God, it must be done soon. 4 What I say unto you, 
I say unto all, Watch ; for in such an hour as ye 
think not, the Son of man cometh.' How should I 
rejoice to take you by the hand as a dear brother in 
the Lord, and to see you far more faithful in the ser- 
vice of Christ than ever I have been ! How happy 
might we be in mutual efforts here, and with what 
joy unite for ever in the songs of praise to redeem- 
ing love ! 

" That this joy may be ours, through penitence 
for sin, and faith in atoning blood, is the prayer of 
your affectionate friend, H. Page " 



CHAPTER IV. 

RESIDENCE OF TWO MONTHS IN JEWETT CITY 
AND EIGHTEEN MONTHS IN COVENTRY. 

Mr. Page now spent some weeks in mechanical 
labors in Jewett city, a manufacturing village which 



80 LIFE OF H. PAGE. 

had recently sprung up thirty miles distant ; lodging 
with a pious relative who there resided. His letters 
to his family, with a brief journal during his ab- 
sence, give us additional light respecting the state of 
his heart, and his efforts to be useful. 

" Friday, May 18, 1821. Left home for Jewett 
City. Spent the night at brother T.'s in Lebanon. — 
Have had a long season of spiritual darkness, but 
this evening think I enjoyed more of the light of 
God's countenance." 

" Saturday, 19. Determined to endeavor to do 
all my duty to all the members of brother T.'s family. 
Felt a peculiar earnestness in family prayer for 
those who were without God. Went to the factory 
and conversed with each person employed in it, on 
the state of their souls. Found in them a general 
reluctance to come to a determination to attend imme- 
diately to the one thing needful Two or three ap- 
peared somewhat affected in view of their state. 
How important, that, in conversing with the impe- 
nitent, we endeavor to bring the truth home plainly 
to their hearts. God grant that this interview may 
not be in vain." 

it was on this or another occasion, that as he was 
passing a school-house in L , he called, pre- 
sented some Tracts to the teacher for her scholars, 
and addressed a few words to her on the subject of 
her own salvation ; and to this brief interview she 
now ascribes her conversion to God. 



IN JEWETT CITY. 81 

On the same day he arrived at Jewett City ; and 
the following letter on the evening of the succeeding 
day shows how soon he found something here to 
do for Christ. 

"Jewett City, Sabbath evening, 10 d clock. 

(To Mrs. Page.) 

11 Thus far the Lord has sustained me. I arrived 
here in safety last evening. This morning heard 

Rev. Mr. W , from Rev. 7: 10, showing that 

the salvation of the sinner should all be ascribed to 
God. In the afternoon attended a funeral, where Mr. 
W. solemnly addressed a large concourse. This 
evening have visited at the boarding-house, where 
are about forty boarders. Found some there who 
seemed to love the cause of Christ. I remarked to 

Mrs. P , that I thought we ought to have prayer 

meetings in the neighborhood. She gave her assent ; 
and soon proposed that we should commence them 
this evening, and that the boarders be called in. Ex- 
pecting I should be requested to lead, gave me a 
little heart-fluttering ; but I think I had some earnest- 
ness in the performance of the duty. 

" Many connected with the factory spend the Sab- 
bath in idleness or amusement. I feel that I have 
here much to do ; and O for judgment, prudence, 
humility, and love to God and souls, to enable me to 
perform it ! I feel more and more the need of Divine 
aid, and of the prayers of others. I think my situa- 



82 LIFE OF H. PAGE 

tion here will in many respects be trying. I shall 
need the whole armor of God. My religious privi- 
leges will be less than they have been ; but it seems 
there is a door opening that I may be useful. Pray 
for me, my dear wife, and engage all you can to do 
the same. Give the little ones a kiss from Pa. Stay 
yourself on God. He knows what is for your good. 
" With the tenderest affection, 

" H. Page." 

" Monday, 21. Proposed to one of the workmen 
that we hold stated prayer meetings for a revival of 
religion in the factory. Think we shall succeed." 

" Wednesday evening, 22. Had a meeting of the 
workmen and boarders at Captain P— — 's. It was 
agreed to hold a weekly prayer meeting on Wed- 
nesday evenings. Feel considerable anxiety for a 
revival of religion in the factory. There appears 
here a dreadful indifference to Divine things. O 
Lord, make the stubborn tremble, and make those 
whom I daily see living in sin, the trophies of thy 
grace ! 

" Saturday evening, 25. To-day I have heard 
good news from Coventry — the conversions of P. P. 
and J. P. For a moment I could hardly be reconcil- 
ed to be away from them ; but the persuasion that 
God has more for me to do here than there, calms 
my anxieties and stimulates me to act. To God I 
Tvould commit my dear family. May he preserve 



IN JEWETT CITY. 83 

them to-night, and give them and me a pleasant 
Sabbath ! To-day had some conversation with a 
universalist. Agreed with a Christian friend to 
make him a subject of special prayer." 

" Jewett City, Wednesday evening, May 30. 

(To Mrs. Page.) 

" I received yours on Saturday, which gave me 
the pleasing intelligence that P. P. and J. P. think 
they have found the Savior. I hope, by this time, 
the work has become general. It seems more and 
more that it was necessary for me to come away. 
Perhaps I was the Achan that prevented the bless- 
ing. It appears that God will have me remain here 
at present. 

" On Wednesdajr evenings we have a prayer 
meeting of those connected with the factory; and a 
few, who love the Throne of Grace, have agreed to 
establish a prayer meeting on Sabbath mornings at 
sunrise. Christians here are of various religious 
denominations, and seem to have been discourag- 
ed. I think there are some appearances now of 
quickening. There appears so wide a door here 
for Christian effort, that I scarcely know where to 
begin. Several of the workmen will probably unite 
and take the Missionary Herald, that it may be read 
at the Wednesday evening meetings; but the reli- 
gious state of the people, generally, is lamentable. 



84 LIFE OF H. PAGE. 

By many the Sabbath is shamefully profaned, and 
the enemies of Christ seem to triumph. J need your 
prayers, and the prayers of friends, for wisdom, 
grace, and humility. 

" Affectionately yours, 

" H. Page." 

The following memorandum shows briefly how 
he spent the next Sabbath. 

" Sabbath evening, June 3. — This morning at- 
tended a prayer meeting at sunrise. Seven were 
present. Had a pleasant meeting. They thought 
they had felt for a few days a greater anxiety for a 
revival of religion. 

11 After breakfast visited Mr. F. a sick man, who 
has worked with us. Yesterday his case was 
thought to be dangerous, but to-day he is more 
comfortable. Conversed with him on the state of 
his soul ; found him without hope, and feeling un- 
prepared for his change. He had been considerably 
alarmed, but did not seem to have a clear sense of 
his awful guilt in the sight of God. I read to him 
a Tract, prayed with him, and endeavored to per- 
suade him of the necessity of immediate repentance. 

"At the door, met a man and conversed with 
him ; he said he thought some on the subject of re- 
ligion, and knew he was a sinner. I urged him not 
to delay the great work of making his peace with 
God. 



AT JEWETT CITY. 85 

" Near a neighboring house saw four young 
men, who appeared very thoughtless ; went to them, 
and told them I had a short message, which I wish- 
ed them to hear and consider. After getting their 
attention, I told them it was, 4 Prepare to meet thy 
God.' 

44 Walked to P , and heard Rev. Mr. W. Ad- 
dressed the prayer meeting in the evening, and felt 
some freedom. Called again on the sick man : he 
said he had thought much of what I said to him in 
the morning. 

" On my way, met one of the young men whom I 
accosted this morning; took him by the hand, and 
asked if he had thought of what I then said to him. 
He said he had many times during the day. Ad- 
dressed him and a group of lads around him, warn- 
ing them that they must awake to a sense of their 
danger — or perish. 

44 Agreed upon appointing a Monthly Concert for 
prayer, to-morrow evening, in the school-house." 

44 Monday evening. Just returned from Monthly 
Concert. About 40 were present. To me it was a 

pleasant meeting. Walked home with Mr. . 

He appeared considerably enlivened." 

44 Wednesday evening. Attended meeting at the 
boarding house. How much do I need pardoning 
and sanctifying grace " 

8 



86 LIFE OF H. PAGE. 

" Jewett City, Saturday P. M. June 9. 

(To Mrs. Page.) 

" I sent yesterday to Boston for the Missionary 

Herald ; and Esq. M gives me the reading of 

the Recorder. So you see I shall not be destitute of 
religious intelligence. If I had a supply of Tracts, 
I could dispose of them here to good advantage. 

" I lose one quarter of a day this P. M. to write 
and get some rest preparatory to the Sabbath, as I 
have found myself dull at meeting." 

He proceeds to relate particularly the events of the 
preceding Sabbath, and continues the letter on Sab- 
bath evening. 

" Thirteen were present at the prayer-meeting this 

morning. I enjoyed it much. The sermon at P , 

in the afternoon, was on the duties (/parents, and 
uncommonly interesting. 

" A Universalist preached to-day at the church 
here. So you see the enemy had the field. I do 
think a faithful minister, stationed here, might do 
incalculable good. It is indeed missionary ground. 

44 As to my own spiritual state, I can hardly tell 
you what it is, I find so much impurity of motive. I 
hope you have many new converts around you, and 
many engaged Christians. How is my own dear 
sister ? Is she yet a Christian ? Tell the dear chil 
dren that Pa thinks of them, and prays for them. 1 
hope you will make up in duties to them what has 



AT JEWETT CITY. 8¥ 

been wanting in me. Do not neglect their souls, as 
I have too much done, H. Page." 

"Monday, June 11. Called on Mr. F. who is 
worse. He thought he had experienced a change 
within a few days ; but I could obtain no satisfacto- 
ry evidence. Endeavored to deal faithfully with 
him, and show him the danger of a false hope. 

11 Tuesday evening. Attended a prayer-meeting 
one and a half miles distant. About twenty present. 
I often inquire what reason I have to hope I am a 
Christian. I find so much selfishness in my motives 
to action, that I sometimes fear true love to Christ is 
wanting." 

" Sabbath evening, June 17. Twenty-one present 
at the prayer-meeting at sunrise. Heard Rev. Mr. 
"YV morning and afternoon. Attended a prayer- 
meeting in the intermission. At 5 o'clock, attend- 
ed the Sabbath school here ; forty-two children 
present. This evening, prayer-meeting at the school- 
house. Within three days have felt uncommonly 
anxious for the salvation of souls ; but the impeni- 
tent all around me seem yet to be thoughtless. Satan 
appears to be making unusual efforts. May the Lord 
guide me in duty. Have I not come to this place 
with his glory in view ? Shall I not be the means of 
benefiting some souls ? 

" Friday evening, 22. This evening, a prayer 
meeting for Sabbath School teachers ; about twenty 



88 LIFE OF H. PAGE. 

attended. Tne meeting at the boarding-house, on 
Wednesday evening, was more solemn than usual. 
Find that some were deeply interested. 

" Wednesday evening, June 27. To-day, paid 
what is called 'entrance' to the work-shop, by giv- 
ing Tracts to the workmen. They generally appear- 
ed pleased. Held a conversation of some length with 
a gentleman of considerable education. He argued 
on many religious subjects, and contends that man 
is not strictly a free agent. May God open his eyes 
and heart." 

"Sabbath, July 1. About thirty at the morning 
prayer-meeting. Attended church and joined in com- 
memorating the Lord's death at P . At 5 P. M. 

attended Sabbath school, containing now upwards of 
eighty scholars, who are very regular and attentive. 
Yet, with all these privileges, my spiritual discern- 
ment is so dim, my affections so cold, that I must 
conclude I have but little real desire to ' glorify God 
in my body and spirit, which are his.' " 

" Wednesday evening. Prayer-meeting solemn. 
More of the boarders attended than usual. One of 
the workmen appears to be somewhat thoughtful. 
Felt peculiar anxiety for the conversion of sinners. 

44 Tuesday, July 10. Last evening Capt. P — — 
called at my lodgings, bringing a young man seriously 
impressed. Found him deplorably ignorant. He was 
considerably affected, but did not seem to have a 
sense of sin. May God convince him, and bring him 



AT JEWETT CITY. 89 

to the truth. Have just received intelligence of the 
death of the Rev. Dr. Worcester. 

" Saturday, July 14. S H is hoping that 

he has been born again ; and another, I think, gives 
evidence of a change. How much cause have I for 
humiliation, that God should use such an unworthy 
instrument in the conversion of sinners ! And when 
he has, in so many instances, blessed my feeble ef- 
forts, how guilty that I am not more earnest in ex- 
ertions for the good of souls ! 

" This afternoon learned that Mr. L is indulg- 
ing a hope. Blessed news, that one of the workmen 
has been brought home to Christ !" 

Encouraged by these indications, he addressed the 
following letter to a gentleman of much respectabili- 
ty, with whom he had had a friendly interview. 

" Sabbath evening, 15th July. 

" Dear Sir, — Our partial acquaintance and other 
circumstances have led me to feel a peculiar interest 
in your eternal welfare. In our recent interview, I 
learned that you have been often affectionately re- 
minded of the necessity of an immediate attention to 
the concerns of eternity, but yet that you are living 
without hope, and with your affections still supreme 
ly placed on earthly good. 

" My feelings were not a little excited while in the 
house of God to-day, in contemplating the final se- 
paration of those who are connected by the dearest 



90 LIFE OF H. PAGE. 

earthly ties — one to descend to the gloom of ever- 
lasting despair — the other to rise to immortal life 
and glory. I knew, that you had had a religious 
education ; that a thousand prayers of pious friends 
had been offered in your behalf; and that a devoted 
wife was pouring out her intercessions to God, that 
you may not be separated in the future world. 

" Why, Sir, this insensibility to eternal realities ? 
Why this parleying with sin ? this forgetfulness of 
God ? this aversion to a holy life, and to the Savior 
of sinners ? I cannot believe that your enlightened 
understanding will allow T you to barter your soul for 
the trifles of earth. 

" Men act in view of motives. Permit me to ask, 
do you not find them sufficient to induce a compli- 
ance with the simple and reasonable requisitions of 
the Gospel of Christ? How long, Sir, will you with- 
hold the best affections of your heart from him who 
is * the chief among ten thousands, and altogether 
lovely?' How long will you put far away the evil day, 
and slumber on the verge of ruin ? How long will 
you, dear Sir, reject the Redeemer of mankind and 
his offers of eternal life ? God grant that your heart 
may answer, • Not a moment.' Allow me the free- 
dom of affectionately entreating you immediately to 
escape from the threatened doom of the impenitent, 
and cast yourself as a vile rebel on the mercy of 
Him who alone is able to save. 

" With affection and respect, sincerely yours, 

"H. Page." 



AT JEWETT CITY. 91 

" Thursday, July 19. Felt an unusual desire 
this day for a revival of religion. Have conversed 
with L . ■ He appears very well. H. K. ap- 
pears very solemn." 

On the same day he thus wrote to Mrs. Page : 

44 I have received yours. Is Coventry indeed in 
so deplorable a condition ? Where is the zeal of 
Christians ? Is there no God ? no heaven ? no hell ? 
Are there no souls on the way to death ? I hoped 
to hear that you were enjoying a fresh anointing of 
the Holy Spirit. The Lord Jesus is just such a stay 
as you now and always need. Your companion, 
you will find, sooner or later, to be only a broken 
reed ; but Christ is a safe refuge. 

" We have some favorable tokens for good here. 

One man, Mr. L , has obtained a hope, and is 

now quite active. A young woman appears to-day 
to be under convictions, and others, I think, are 
more solemn. As much as I desire to be with my 
own family, 1 should not dare to leave this place at 
this time. I hope that God has sent me here to be 
a means of advancing his cause. I felt yesterday a 
peculiar anxiety for sinners, and think I was en- 
abled to maintain, in a degree, a praying spirit. 

14 In all your trials, you will find it sweet casting 
yourself into the arms of Christ. He is ready to 
grant consolation to his children. Only put your 
confidence in Him, and be active and faithful in his 
service. Yours with sincere affection, 

" H. Page." 



92 LIFE OF H. PAGE. 

" Sabbath, July 22. At the prayer-meeting this 
morning, learned that H. K. had found peace in be- 
lieving. In the evening had a long conversation 

with the family of Mr. . Found one of his 

daughters strongly attached to dancing, and, in the 
pursuit of vanity, waiting for God to do his work in 
her heart. Endeavored to take away her excuses, 
and convince her that the guilt is all her own. May 
the Holy Spirit set home truth to her heart. 

" July 28. This day completes thirty years of my 
life. How ought I to begin this new year for God % 

"Aug. 2. Compelled by pain in my breast to 
leave work in the shop ; painted a landscape view of 
the factory. Attended a meeting to devise means for 
obtaining a faithful minister to be settled and devote 
his labors constantly in the village. 

" August 4. Health more feeble, and obliged to 
resort to medicine. In addition to my bodily infir- 
mities, I find great languor in my spiritual affec- 
tions. O for a more ardent desire to be instrumen- 
tal in promoting the glory of God ! May I not, 
blessed Jesus, leave myself with thee ? Wilt thou not 
guide me, and lead me back to thy fold, and make 
me faithful the short time I have to continue on 
earth 7 Thou knowest my weakness, my instability, 
my dim vision of eternal things, and my ingrati- 
tude. Pardon my wanderings, revive my languid 
affections, and fit me for all thy pleasure." 

Here closes the little journal he kept of his brief 



AT JEWETT CITY. 93 

stay in Jevvett City; and we regret to say, he has 
left behind him nothing further in the shape of a 
journal. Had he made and preserved even such 
hasty notices of his efforts from day to day, and the 
blessing that followed them, it is only known to God 
how extensively the record of them might have been 
blessed in inciting others to duty. 

On the last page of the journal we have a memo- 
randum of " Books out? including Baxter's Call, 
and a few works of kindred character, the loaning 
of which, as he judged them adapted to the state of 
particular individuals, was one of his accustomed . 
means of usefulness. 

From another memorandum, it appears, that, 
while he was performing the labors of love above 
recounted, he worked fifty-seven days, at seventy-five 
cents a day. Here was a mechanic, performing his 
daily task on hire ; establishing and sustaining a 
religious meeting at the boarding-house, on Wed- 
nesday evenings ; a meeting of the people of God 
for prayer, on Sabbath mornings, at sunrise ; and, 
though he went about three miles to attend public 
worship, throwing his efforts into a Sabbath school 
at 5 P. M., and instructing a class ; devoting Sab- 
bath evenings to meetings and family visitation; 
conversing with the sick, the careless, the anxious, 
and those indulging a hope ; distributing Tracts ; 
endeavoring to awaken an interest in the benevo- 
lent operations of the day; keeping a brief diary; 



94 LIFE OF H. PAGE. 

abounding in prayer ; and adopting-, with others, in- 
cipient measures (which proved successful) for the 
formation of a church and the settlement of an 
evangelical pastor. Many a professed Christian, 
as he goes out on a journey, or to tarry among 
strangers, " leaves his religion behind him." Not 
so our brother: " I hope," was his language, "that 
God has sent me here to advance his cause" 

The friend with w r hom he lodged says, religion 
was always first in his mind. If he entered a fa- 
mily, after the usual salutations, this subject was 
immediately introduced. In promoting the Sabbath 
schools, he would go out into the high-ways ; and 
wherever he found those of suitable age, however 
far from God they might seem, would gain their at- 
tention, and, if possible, bring them in. Six or eight 
wild boys, from twelve to seventeen years old, were 
thus induced to attend ; were led to see their ruin 
oy sin, and brought hopefully to Christ. Some of 
them became teachers in the school. One of them, 
a little before the death of Mr. Page, expressed an 
earnest desire to see him ; and said that, but for his 
efforts, he must have been, to all human view, -*i 
eternal outcast. The meetings in the boarding- 
house were continued about a year after he left us, 
and the saving influences of the Holy Spirit descend- 
ed upon them. The gentleman whom he addressed 
by letter, July 15, publicly professed Christ, and 
frequently spoke of Mr. Page's faithful efforts for 



AT COVENTRY. 95 

his salvation. A daughter of one of the families 
he visited, lamented on her death-bed that she had 
not heeded his admonitions. ' Oh,' said she, 'that I 
could see that Mr. Page ! O that I had regarded 
his warnings !' At the close of the evening he often 
spent much time in his chamber before retiring to 
rest, sometimes till a late hour, doubtless wrestling 
with God in prayer for the individuals with whom, 
during the day, he had been conversing. 

We now return with our brother to his peaceful 
home, where his health for several weeks continued 
feeble, and forbade his returning to labor at Jevvett 
City, as he had intended. But it appears that, 
though in " much debility of body," and for a time 
'■ unable to converse much," he did not relinquish 
the one prime object of his life. On the 18th of 
August he thus wrote to C. H. H. a young lady 
who had been for some time anxious for her soul. 

" According to your own confession, your case is 
deplorable indeed. Convinced of the necessity of 
religion, and of the vanity of all earthly pursuits, 
you still choose the way to death. But stop ; is 

C a in the way to death ? can it be possible that 

she has lived three months sensible of her danger, 
and knowing her duty, without casting herself, a 
guilty rebel, at the foot of the cross 7 O remember, 
tne Savior will not always call. Continuing to re- 
ject him, the day of your calamity is at hand ! The 



96 LIFE OF H. PAGE, 

eternal sorrows that shall come upon you, make 
haste. Think again of his melting invitations: 'Look 
unto me, and be ye saved.' ' Ho, every one that 
thirsteth, come ye to the waters.' Slighting such 
calls, and abusing such privileges as you enjoy, 
must you not deserve and receive an aggravated 
doom? If these were the last words I could ever 
speak to you, I would say, Haste — throw yourself 
immediately on the mercy of God in Christ. Unless 
you do this, you can never enter heaven ; and unless 
you do it soon, it is more than probable the lamenta- 
tion will be yours : * the harvest is past, the summer 
ended — and I am not saved!' " 

On the 23d of August he wrote an affectionate 
letter to friends in Jewett City, expressing his regret 
that he was unable to return ; encouraging them to 
persevere in duty ; and enclosing a solemn appeal 
to his Sabbath school class. 

September 5, he transmitted, for publication in 
the Guardian, a sketch of the interview held with a 
young lady, July 22 ; his object being " to convince 
her that there was no obstacle on the part of God 
to her coming to him, and that the guilt of her 
continued impenitence rested wholly and alone on 
herself. 

" f I acknowledge,' she said, ' that I do love the 
pleasures of this world ; and that dancing, which is 
my favorite amusement, is one of the last things I 
could give up.' 



AT COVENTRY. 97 

" ' Are you prepared then,' I asked, 4 to risk your 
eternal all, for a short season of this world's enjoy- 
ment % When so much has been done for your sal- 
vation, will you still hazard the tremendous conse- 
quences of being - a lover of pleasure more than a 
lover of God ?" ; 

" \ However that may be,' said she, ■ I shall con- 
tinue in my present course till the Spirit of God 
leads me to think and feel differently. Should I die 
now, I know I must be lost ; but 1 can see no way 
to prevent it. I do not desire to be miserable — I wish 
to go to heaven as well as others ; but what can I 
do % The prayer of the wicked is " abomination to 
the Lord ;" and if I am to be saved, when God sees 
fit to change my heart, he will do it.' 

" * True,' said I, " the sacrifice of the wicked is 
abomination to the Lord," he neither accepts nor re- 
quires it. Ele requires the prayer of 'a broken and 
contrite spirit ;' and you can render no valid excuse 
for not going to him this day, and even this moment, 
with a spirit contrite and broken for sin. Every moral 
exercise of your heart, and every act of your life, 
that are not consistent with supreme love to God, 
are also an abomination in his sight. And besides 
all this, your impenitence and your neglect of reli- 
gion is your own choice ; for this you are guilty ; 
and for this, if persisted in, you will be justly con- 
demned. If you cannot plead this excuse at the bar 
of God, never, I beseech you, make it again on earth. 
9 



98 LIFE OF H. PAGE. 

" After endeavoring in vain to obtain a promise 
that she would do so much for her salvation, as for 
a short season each day to call to mind and confess 
her sins individually to God, I left her, hoping that 
the interview would be the means, at least of excit- 
ing some serious reflections. 

M I think we see in this example, that impenitent 
sinners have no desire to become the followers of 
Christ. They wish to escape misery, and to be hap- 
py ; but are unwilling humbly to accept of Christ ; 
and refuse to engage, for his sake, in se+f-denying 
duty. They also, impliedly, if not confessedly, cast 
the blame of their impenitence on God. 

"Let every Christian, while so many are thus ex- 
cusing and deluding themselves, be faithful in un- 
veiling to them the real state of their hearts, and 
showing them their guilt and danger. Let him 
warn them no longer to reply against God ; show 
them that their excuses arise from hatred to him 
and his perfect law, and from their own disposition 
to justify themselves. And let him add to this, fre- 
quent and fervent prayer, that their eyes may be 
opened, and that they may cast themselves on the 
mercy of God in Christ. 

•* To persons of the character of the young lady 
above described, I would say, in the language of the 
apostle, that, at the bar of judgment, 'every mouth 
will be stopped, and all the world become guilty be- 
fore God.' At that dread tribunal you can plead no 



AT COVENTRY. 99 

palliation for your impenitent life. You must stand 
confounded, while you acknowledge the justice of the 
sentence that fixes your doom in eternal wo. Be de- 
ceived no longer. Your immortal soul is at stake. 
Awake now to your danger, while you are in a land 
of hope. Acknowledge yourself a vile and guilty 
rebel ; and remember that you must repent and be- 
lieve in Christy or you can never be admitted to the 
abodes of the blessed." 

There stands appended to a copy of this article 
the following note, dated 1829, in the hand- writing 
of Mr. Page: 

" The young lady above described received im- 
pressions from this article which resulted in her 
hopeful conversion to God. She has since died, 
trusting in the merits of Christ." 

Coventry, September 20, 1821. 

(To Miss J. B.) 

M I hear you have not yet professed Christ before 
men. If you hope that you are a child of God, I 
think you would receive much spiritual benefit, and 
be instrumental of more good to others, by publicly 
joining yourself to his people. 

" The field is open to all who are willing to labor 
in it ; and the present is a day when none can ex- 
cuse themselves for being inactive. Every humble, 
well-directed effort for Zion's cause, God seems 
ready to own and bless. This is also an age and 



100 LIFE OF H. PAGE. 

country in which, females may do much to advance 
the Redeemer's kingdom. 

" And now, Miss J , can you not do more 

than you have done ? Is there no Christian female, 
whom you can encourage ? no impenitent sinner 
whom you can warn of his danger ? no young 
friend whom you might hope to bring to the know- 
ledge of the truth ? Do be faithful to the youth 
around you. Pray for them, and labor with them, 
that they receive not the doom of the rejecters of 
Christ Your friend, H. Page." 

" Coventry, Monday evening, 8 Oct. 1821. 
(To Miss p — a — .) 

My Dear Friend, — This afternoon we have 
committed to the dust the body of one of your intimate 
acquaintances, D. R. Why was it not myself? Why 

was it not my friend P % We are still in the 

land of the living, and God grant that the remainder 
of our days may be spent in the service of Christ. 

" What are your feelings, my friend, as you 
revert to those seasons when the Holy Spirit spoke 
to your conscience, and brought you, in some degree, 
to feel your wretched condition ? Are all serious 
impressions banished from your mind ? Are the 
Divine influences withdrawn for ever ? Is my 
friend, who was once trembling in view of her state 
as a sinner, now thoughtlessly pursuing her course 
to the world of wo ? I can hardly bear the thought, 



AT COVENTRY. 101 

An immortal being — blessed with a religious edu- 
cation — a child of many prayers, labors and tears—- 
continuing to reject the offers of life, and refuse the 
gracious calls of a bleeding Savior ! 

V May I not indulge the hope, that, ere this, you 
are a child of God ; an active laborer in his vine- 
yard ; and prepared for the rest that ' remains for 
the people of God?' If not, let me affectionately 
urge you now to awake ; to delay the work of re- 
pentance no longer ; and to suffer the enemy of souls 
to gain no farther advantage, lest it prove your eter- 
nal ruin. 

" Do not remain careless because others are so. 
Be an active friend of Christ yourself, and labor to 
bring them to be so too. 

" I have been but little acquainted with the state 
of the youth among us, the summer past, having 
been for some time absent; and for the last two 
months my health has been so much impaired that I 
have had opportunity to converse with but few. But 
there is reason to fear that many are gliding down 
to the gates of death. 

" This may be the last time that I shall ever ad- 
dress you on this subject ; but when we meet at the 
bar of God, may it appear that these lines, and our 
opportunities of conversation, have not been in vain. 
Will you not write and tell me the state of your 
mind ? I did intend to have seen you again before 
you left Coventry, but was disappointed. 

" Your affectionate friend, H. Page." 



102 LIFE OF H. PAGE. 

On the 15th of March, 1822, he writes to H i 

D— — , a young relative, on business ; and that part 
of the letter being finished, proceeds to express his 
regret that their personal interview, when his friend 
was at Coventry, was so short; and his hope that 
correspondence may be an acceptable ^nd useful 
substitute. " A thousand topics of interest," he says, 
" present themselves ; but all others sink into insig 
nificance compared with eternal realities. 

" And now, dear cousin, permit me to speak to 
you particularly on your own spiritual state. From 
your conversation I was led to conclude that you 
did not consider yourself as having experienced that 
change * from death unto life,' which the Scriptures 
represent as indispensable to salvation". ' Without 
holiness no man shall see the Lord !' Destitute of 
supreme love to God, our state is indeed deplorable. 
While we are purposing at some future time to give 
him our hearts, an unexpected and unwelcome mes- 
senger cuts short our hopes for ever. 

" 1 can assure you, my friend, that no period of 
life will ever be so favorable for your accepting the 
offers of mercy as the present. God has said, * I 
love them that love me^ and they that seek me early 
shall find me. 7 I would affectionately urge you, 
by all that is solemn in heaven, on earth, and in the 
w r orld of despair ; in a dying bed, and in the day of 
judgment ; to delay the work of preparation for 
death no longer. Hasten, and flee to Christ as a 
ruined sinner. Days and months fly swiftly ; all 



LI COVENTRY. 103 

opportunity to make your peace with God will soon 
be over ; and the soul once lost, is lost for ever. 
" Do write me, and fully express your feelings. 
41 Your affectionate friend and cousin, 

« H. Page." 

The following is an illustration of a final and al- 
most desperate effort to reach the heart of one whose 
case seemed nearly hopeless. 

(To Miss N II ) 

" The remark has often been made, that 'it will do 

no good to converse with N R on her 

state as a sinner ;' and you have probably yourself 
been brought to the same conclusion. 

" I take my pen to say a few words more to you, 
trembling lest it should only be the means of harden- 
ing you in sin. All motives from this world would 
lead me at once to desist. But when I look to a dy- 
ing hour, and a little beyond, into an unchanging 
eternity, I feel irresistibly impelled once more to ex- 
postulate with a perishing fellow-sinner. I beg you 
to receive it in kindness, and as probably the last 
lines or words, addressed to you personally, which 
you will ever read or hear from me while you con- 
tinue professedly the enemy of God. 

" And now, what shall I say ? Will you accom- 
pany me to that silent room ? Here lies a young lady 
wasted by disease, and just on the confines of eterni- 



104 LIFE OF H. PAGE. 

ty Approach her — the paleness of death is on her 
cheek. Take her by the hand — why start at its icy 
coldness ? It is but kindred dust. Listen to her tale. 
* Alas ! my friend, I am dying ! I am dying ! My 
day of grace is over. My sands are almost run. In 
a few moments I shall be enveloped in devouring 
fire. I have lived in sin, rejected Christ, and now he 
hides his face from me, and there is no remedy. O 
how have Christians plead with me to make God 
my portion ; but I would not listen. I accused God 
of injustice, quarreled with that sovereign love that 
would have wooed my heart; resisted the Holy 
Spirit, that was teaching me my lost condition and 
pressing me to accept of Christ. He called, but I 
refused ; and now he is withdrawn from me for ever. 
O my friend, take warning from me. While you 
have the offers of mercy, flee to Christ. Make haste. 
Delay not a moment, lest you mingle your cries 
with me in the bottomless pit V 

" Can you look at this melancholy picture and not 
apply it to yourself? Death is even now at the door. 
There is no time to parley with Satan, or your own 
heart. Heaven must be gained soon, or not at all. 

Christ now stands at the door and knocks. O, N ! 

say not again, depart ! 

" That you may bid him a cordial welcome, is 
the earnest wish and prayer of your affectionate 
friend, 

"H. Page." 



AT COVENTRY. 105 

Early in the autumn of 1822, commenced an- 
other precious revival of religion, which continued 
for several months, as the result of which, he says, 

in a letter to his cousin H D , near the 

close of winter, " about one hundred have obtained 
a hope. Some of the most amiable have found their 
hearts violently opposed to God; have even repre- 
sented themselves as ' devils incarnate ;' and found 
peace only in confessing all their awful guilt, and 
casting themselves alone on the merits and mercy 

of Christ." In a subsequent letter to Mrs. A 

A , a distant friend, he gives the names of 

twenty-five, with whom she was acquainted, who 
had united with the church. 

This is all the notice he has left of what he did, 
or felt ; of his prayers, or labors, or success, or thanks' 
givings, during this blessed harvest of souls, a sea- 
son in which he rejoiced, as fraught with the choicest 
of all blessings conferred by a gracious God this 
side of heaven. A friend, who knew him well, 
states that, in this revival, he manifested a deeper in- 
terest, and put forth more glowing and unceasing ef- 
forts than ever before. Religious meetings were held 
almost daily, and sometimes at different hours of the 
same day ; and usually he attended them all. Person' 
al conversation with individuals — the careless, the in- 
quiring, and the young convert — was, in connection 
with prayer, the prominent means of his usefulness; 
and for this, as opportunity offered, and duty seemed to 



106 LIFE OF H. PAGE. 

call, he did not hesitate, at any and ail times, to leave 
his business. Though he had little of this world's 
goods, it was generally true, that he " owed no man 
any thing ;" the necessary wants of his family were 
supplied; he felt that, while the influences of the 
Holy Spirit were descending, the opportunity must 
be improved to pluck the golden fruit ; and that, 
whether he obtained a little more, or a little less of 
this world's goods was nothing, compared with the 
salvation of a soul. If any would censure his course, 
let the decision be deferred till the judgment day. 
And O that he may not then be found almost alone — 
— with a little band, who supremely devoted them- 
selves, while in this world, first to glorify God in 
the salvation of souls around them, and after that 
to make provision for the present life. 

In reference to Mr. Page's efforts, at this season, 
the individual to whom his last moving appeal 
above quoted was addressed, relates the following 
incidents : " I had long been awakened, but deter- 
mined to let no one know it ; and made every effort 
to escape Mr. Page. At length, near the close of 
November, I attended a little meeting where I be- 
lieve all were indulging a hope, except my brother 
and myself. After conversing with my brother, he 
came to me, and wished me to tell him the state of 
my mind. I at first said that I was in despair ; but 
from the manner of his reply, perceived that he did 
not give full credit to my assertion. This roused my 



AT COVENTRY. 107 

resentment, and I at once determined not to speak 
again while he remained in the room. He pressed 
me to decide that I would, without delay, give my 
heart to Christ ; but I was so angry that I would 
not even answer him. This conversation brought 
the malignity of my heart more clearly to my own 
view than I had ever seen it before. I could never 
have imagined myself to have indulged such malice 
as I then felt towards him ; and my misery was, that 
I could assign no other reason for it but his faithful- 
ness. Soon, as I trust, God was pleased to subdue 
my enmity ; and my hatred to Mr. Page was at once 
changed to love, for I saw in him the image of my 
blessed Redeemer" 

A little phrase incidentally dropped by his pastor, 
as from his window he saw him approaching in 
company with another, has a significant import : 
" There comes Mr. Page with another lamb" See- 
ing him come wi'h an individual beside him in that 
season of mercy, such a result it seems, was the 
first thing anticipated. 



108 LIFE OF H. PAGE. 



CHAPTER V. 

HIS NARRATIVE OF THOMAS HAMITAH PATOO, A 
NATIVE OF THE MARQUESAS ISLANDS, HOPEFUL- 
LY BROUGHT TO CHRIST IN COVENTRY. 

Though Mr. Page left no written memorial of 
his efforts, or the state of his mind during the work of 
grace just alluded to, the deficiency is at least par- 
tially supplied in the interesting memoir of Thomas 
Hamitah Patoo, which he originally prepared. 
He had often agitated the question, whether, even at 
his age, and with a rising family around him, it was 
not his duty to go and labor in some humble station 
among the heathen ; and when Patoo was located 
near him, he felt that Providence had brought a 
heathen to his own door, and that he must omit no 
efforts for his salvation. 

Patoo had reached the age of about fourteen, 
when, attracted by ships which occasionally touched 
at his native Islands, he resolved to visit America ; 
and to secure his purpose, jumped on board a ship 
with her sails spread, just in time to see his afflicted 
father reluctantly wave his handkerchief as a sig- 
nal of farewell. He arrived at Boston ; and after a 
varied life of two or three years, and many suffer- 
ings occasioned by his own folly, was taken under 
the charge of Mr. D« H , a benevolent gen- 



SKETCH OF PATOO. 109 

tieman, who, in May, 1822, placed him in a pious 
family in Coventry, commending him to "the pray- 
ers and Christian kindness of the pastor and the 
whole church." 

" At a prayer-meeting at sunrise, in the autumn 
of 1822," says the narrative, "it was observed that 
Thomas was much affected, and wept bitterly. He 
was made a subject of special prayer ; and his con- 
versation at the close of the meeting, evidently show- 
ed that he was under the strivings of the Holy 
Spirit." These impressions were deepened by the 
clear exhibition of truth at successive meetings, and 
its faithful personal application to himself in private 
conversation. His distress was such one day, that 
he left home in the rain, first to find his Christian 
friend, and then to visit his pastor, to obtain some 
relief. Truth presented, took 'hold of his mind ; but 
he rebelled against God ; murmured at the conver- 
sion of a young acquaintance ; and returned to spend 
a sleepless night, in view of his hopeless condition. 
On the day following, his anxiety continued unaba- 
ted ; his distress was such that he could not attend 
to the business assigned him ; most of the day was 
spent in agonizing prayer ; till at length the Savior 
appeared for him, his burdened conscience was re- 
lieved, and he found peace in believing. His own 
narrative of the way in which he was led, expressed 
in his broken idiom, is a delightful exemplification 
of the power and excellency of true religion. 
10 



110 LIFE OF H. PAGE. 

" Question. Thomas, what was the state of your 
mind after the commencement of the revival in Co- 
ventry ? 

" Answer. Christians talk to me a great deal 
about mv bad heart. Me think my heart good 
enough 

Q. Did you then endeavor to pray ? 

* A. Mrs. T. teach me to say Lord's prayer. I 
think me got no mother, no father, no sister, no bro- 
ther here ; and Mrs. T\ good to me, so I do as she 
tell me. Then I kneel down before I go to bed, and 
say prayer. 

" Q. Did you occasionally omit this duty % 

" A. Sometimes. Then Deacon T. say you must 
say your prayers, Thomas, every night. Then me 
go pray mad. 

" Q. Had you any different feelings at the morn- 
ing prayer-meeting, at which you wept ? 

" A. Then me feel heavy — feel afraid to die — 
feel sorry for my sin. Me try to pray, ' Our Fa- 
ther. 5 Me go home, think what minister say, then I 
pray. Next day forget it all — then feel light. 

" When you went to the inquiry meetings, how 
did you feel % 

" A. I feel good some — then I feel heavy again. 
When minister say all about poor sinner — then I 
feel sorry. 

u Q. What were your feelings at the meeting for 
inquiry on Sabbath evening? 



SKETCH OF PATOO. Ill 

" A. Heart feel hard. Somebody tell me J. B. got 
a new heart. I feel angry. 

" Q. How did you spend the Tuesday following? 

" A. Me want to see minister. I set out — go part 
way, feel so bad can go no further — then kneel 
down by a great rock and pray. Me say, O Lord, 
have mercy on poor Thomas, poor heathen — give 
him new heart — take awaj r old heart — O give him 
new heart now. Then I go on. Go in minister's 
barn — 'fraid to go in house — then I pray again. 
Then look round and say, God make this hay — this 
grain — all these things — why can't God make me 
new heart. Me wipe tears off my cheeks, but they 
come again. Then go in house. Mrs. C. say, What 
the matter, Thomas, you hurt you ? I so 'shamed, me 
say, O it rains out doors. Want to have her think it 
rain on my face. 

" Q. What did you say to the minister 1 

" A. Me say, me got that bad heart yet. 

" Q. Did you feel glad when told that J. B. had a 
new heart ? 

" A. No, sir, me feel bad — me feel very heavy — 
me want to come first, before any body get in. When 
me go away, hope me come to be like J. B. 

" Q. How did you feel that night and the day 
following ? 

" A. That night me feel heavy — heavy all over. 
Eyes all tears — could no sleep. Next day feel so 
all time. Afternoon go work in barn with W. — 



112 LIFE OF H. PAGE. 

could no work. Feel me want to pray. Tell W. we 
kneel down. Then me say, Lord have mercy on 
poor Thomas, poor W. — give us new hearts. Then 
me think about Jesus Christ, and about Christian 
i)lks. Me never feel so before. Heavy all gone. 
Then me love to pray, and say Our Father, and 
thank great God he give J. B. a new heart. Then 
me think me feel to love Christ — me go up on hay 
to find him— pray to him. Then me think Christ 
every where. Then come down. 

" Q. What were your feelings during the meet- 
ing in the evening? 

" A. Me want to shake hand with the minister, 
then feel to love all Christians. 

" Q. How do you think you know a Christian 
from an impenitent sinner ? 

" A. Christian shake hand hard — his hand feel 
warm — sinner no shake hand. 

" Q. What do you mean by a new heart? 

" A. A heart that feel to love good thought. 

11 Q. How do you know your heart to be solt 
now? 

11 A. Why, me no feel mad to any body ; if man 
strike me, no want to strike him back again. 

"After his conversion, his advancement in divine 
knowledge was rapid. The Holy Spirit seemed to 
teach him to understand the truths of God, and as far 
as understood, they evidently produced the fruits of 
holiness," 



SKETCH OF PATOO. 113 

He had a great desire to unite with the church at 
the approaching communion, and when the pastor 
informed him that, at the suggestion of his distant 
friend, it was thought best that his admission be de- 
ferred, he replied with great feeling : " If, Sir, you 
think best, then me wait ; but maybe me die soon — 
then me never own Christ before men 1" 

He adorned the Christian character — loved the 
Bible — prayed much, especially for his own rela- 
tives and countrymen, for the heathen, and the im- 
penitent in Christian lands — and, like the brother 
who made him the object of his Christian love and 
more than paternal regard, and wrote his history, he 
put forth his most ardent efforts to bring sinners to 
Christ. The statements in the two following com- 
munications are full of import, and have an impres- 
sive bearing on the immediate object of this work. 
The first is from a young lady, who had long been 
convicted of sin, and was still cherishing a rebellious 
heart. 

" ■ After our friend Thomas indulged a hope, I en- 
deavored,' she says, 'to avoid him as much as possi- 
ble; but one day, after conversing with my sister, 
and expressing much joy because she got a new 

heart, he turned to me and said, ' N , why you 

no give up that bad heart — why you no come with 
C. and be a Christian 1 Me want you be a Christian 
toe !' In order to evade what he said, and prevent 
his saying more, I replied, ' Thomas, why did you 
10* 



114 LIFE OF H. PAGE. 

aever speak to me about those things before ? Per- 
haps, had you been as faithful in talking to me, as 
you have been to my sister, I too should have had a 
new heart.' With an expression of deep regret, he 

replied, ' N , me very sorry me no talk to you 

before. Me pray for you before, and now me talk to 
you.' After this he embraced every opportunity of 
affectionately urging upon me immediate submission 
to Christ. 

" 'In the height of the revival, when a'number of 
Christian friends were spending the day at our 
house, feeling no disposition to be with them, I re- 
tired to another room, and there staid meditating on 
my hopeless condition. It was not long before some 
one rapped at the door, and who was it but Thomas ! 
He immediately began, in the most feeling manner, 
to entreat me to submit to Christ without delay. 
* Christ ready to receive you — all the good Chris- 
tians want you to come — angel in heaven ready to 
rejoice over you— why you no come V After con- 
versing in this manner for some minutes, he was si- 
lent. At length, looking at me most expressively, he 
said, ' Me sorry me no talk to you before. Me pray 
for you ; me want to pray with you.' We knelt, and 
Thomas poured forth the feelings of his heart in 
language like this : ' mercy, Father, have mercy 
on us sinners. Have mercy on this friend. Pray 
this friend may now give up that bad heart to Christ, 
and not go to hell,' &c. It was the burden of his 



SKETCH OF PATOO. 115 

prayer, that I might then submit to Christ. I will 
leave others to judge what were my feelings, to have 
this heathen, who had but just learned there was a 
God, on his knees pleading for mercy on me, a stub- 
born sinner, hardened under the meridian light of 
the Gospel' " 

The other communication to which we have re- 
ferred, is from one now a minister of the Gospel, and 
was made to Mr. Page a few months previous to 
his death : 

u £ The first time I saw Thomas after he thought 
he had been born again, was on Sabbath, Dec. 8, 
1822. I was then groaning under convictions of 
sin — I felt myself lost. It seemed that there was but 
a step between me and hell. I longed to converse 
with some one, but I was too proud to tell any one 
how I felt. 

" ' Thus situated, Thomas approached me, and be- 
gan to question me about my spiritual condition. I 
told him I felt that there was no hope for me : I had 
sinned against so much light, and so many strivings 
of the Spirit. 

" { He proceeded to urge me to immediate submis- 
sion. ' Why you no give up that bad heart % It will 
do you no good to keep it. It will destroy you for 
ever. Give it up notv to Christ. Christ ready to 
git 3 you a new, a good heart. Me hope me have 
given my bad heart to him. Me hope me have a 
new one. Oh, sir, do give up your bad heart. 7 



116 LIFE OF H. PAGE. 

" £ I told him I wished I could, but it was so hard 
I could not : something was in the way, I did not 
know what. 

" £ This excuse did not satisfy him. It only led him 
to press home with more earnestness the duty of im- 
mediately giving up my bad heart to Christ. 

•* * I felt so distressed, I begged him to pray for me. 
This was the first time in my life that I ever had 
made such a request, and the very asking him to 
pray for me deepened my impressions. It came to 
my mind immediately, " What ! must you, a gospel- 
hardened rebel, call in to your help the prayers of a 
poor Marquesan, who has but just been converted 
from the worship of idols ! He has just now heard 
of Christ, and received him as his Savior ; you have 
heard of him for years, and have been slighting his 
salvation, despising his offers of mercy, trampling 
on his blood, and grieving his Spirit!' These re- 
flections were like daggers to my soul. 

" ' Thomas premised to pray for me, but left me 
saying, ' Oh, Sir, give up thai bad heart now.' 
This sentence was the most powerful sermon I ever 
heard ; it contained the eloquence of the Spirit ; and 
coming in the way it did, with an expression of the 
most tender pity and concern, left an impression on 
my mind which, I trust, will never be effaced. I 
have always considered his earnest exhortation to me 
at that time, as the principal means in the hand of 
God of my conversion' " 



SKETCH OF PATOO. 117 

In March, 1823, Mr. Page accompanied Patoo to 
the Foreign Mission School, then in operation in. 
Cornwall, where he hoped to become qualified to 
return as a messenger of Christ to his native islands, 
On the 30th of March he thus wrote to Mr. Page : 

"My dear Christian Friend — I havereceived 
your very kind letter, and am now happy to answer 
it. One of my brothers writes for me, because I can't 
write well enough yet. I tell him what to write, so 
the word be some like Thomas. I very glad the 
great God in heaven make the Coventry people 
pray for poor heathen where there is no Savior. I 
think they pray for me too, that I be prepared to tell 
the heathen all about the great God, and our Savior 
Jesus Christ. I rejoice a great deal to hear about 
sinner come to Christ, and get a new heart. I hope 
the good work continue always among you, so I re- 
joice always. The people here have no revival — 
no pray enough. I sorry ; I hope we pray enough 
by and by. We have good many meetings, but no 
feel. 

I{ I hope I go home by and by, and have sinner 
come to God in my country. Yes, my dear Mr. 
Page, / go, if I live to be ready. We have some 
scholars no love the Savior. I tell them they must 
be born again or go to hell. I talk to some sinner 
all about they no come to Christ. I tell them I come 
away from heathen land, and find a good Savior * 



118 LIFE OF H. PAGE. 

they been here so long, and no come to Christ. 
You must pray a great deal for poor sinners in 
Cornwall school. May be we have a revival here ; 
" I must close now. I think I pray every day for 
you and all my friends. The great God bless you 
and make you do good while you live, and when 
you and I die, may we meet and shake hand in hea- 
ven, and stay always with our Savior and all who 
love him. 

" Your true friend, Patoo." 

This promising youth, in the mysterious provi- 
dence of God, was called, on the 9th of June follow- 
ing, to join the lamented Henry Oobookiah in a 
better world. As he stood with Mr. Page over Oo- 
bookiah's grave, in Cornwall, three months before, he 
said, with great solemnity, " May be I lie here too" 
He remained steadfast, and in sickness and death 
gave delightful evidence of Divine support. Fur- 
ther particulars may be learned from the memoir, 
which is published by the American Tract Society. 
In the journey to Cornwall with Patoo, Mr. Page 
passed a Sabbath in Torringford with the venerable 
father of Samuel J. Mills, whose name is so dear to 
all the friends of Missions. He attended the religious 
meetings of the congregation ; and feeling a deep in- 
terest that the work of God should be revived among 
them, on returning to Coventry, engaged Christians 
to pray for them, and wrote to the family of Mr. 
Mills an affectionate letter. 



SKETCH OF PATOO. 119 

In their reply, they say : " We hope we shall ever 
have reason for gratitude, that Providence directed 
your steps here, and gave you an opportunity to ad- 
dress this people. There seemed to be a general im- 
pression that day, that God was about to visit us 
again. Christians began to feel that they must sleep 
no longer, and that something must be done. The 
next Sabbath evening, though the weather was very 
unfavorable, five of the brethren called unexpectedly 
to spend a little season in prayer, and we have not, 
for many months, witnessed so much solemnity. 
Last evening we had twice the number, and evident- 
ly increasing fervor, and one instance of awakening 
was reported. 

" We mention these circumstances that you may 
know our state, as you manifested a deep interest in 
our spiritual welfare; and to engage a renewed in- 
terest in your prayers." 



120 LIFE OF H. PAGE. 

CHAPTER VL 

CLOSE OF HIS LABORS IN COVENTRY. 

In the summer of 1823 he had another violent 
attack of fever, with a renewed inflammation of the 
liver, hy which he was brought, as he and those 
around him supposed, to the last moments of life. 
" He was calm," says one who watched at his bed 
side, " but did not receive such measures of grace as 
were imparted to him when God's time had come 
for him to die." Thus did his Heavenly Father see 
fit again to discipline him for further usefulness. 

On regaining essentially his health, he was induc- 
ed to direct his attention chiefly to the business of 
engraving, which led to his being employed for a 
time by the American Tract Society, then existing 
at Boston. We find him, on the 17th July, 1824, in 
the Museum of the " Society of Inquiry respecting 
Missions, in the Theological Seminary at Andover," 
writing a description of some of the interesting ob- 
jects before him, for the benefit of the Sabbath School 
he had left in Coventry. 

" Missionary Room, Theol. Sem. Andover. 

(To the Members of the First Sabbath School Class.) 

"My dear Friends, — With no less than six 
gods of the heathen staring me in the face, I am no7v 



MISSIONARY ROOM, ANDOVER. 121 

seated to redeem my pledge of a letter. One of these 
gods is from the Sandwich Islands, and was wor- 
shipped by Tamahamaha, the queen ; and though 
larger, is similar to the one in New-Haven, a pic- 
ture of which you have seen. 

" The remainder are Hindoo gods. One from 
Bengal is in the form of a man, about twelve inches 
high, painted white, with tinsel around the shoulders, 
waist, wrists and ancles, having the appearance of 
gold and silver, with red and green colors inter- 
mingled. Its hair resembles the fibres of the black 
ostrich feather, and on its head is a small cap. It 
would, in short, make a beautiful doll ; yet, this is 
none other than the famous god Vishnu, which hu- 
man beings like ourselves worship. 

" The next is Krishnu, the god of music, a favorite 
god of the Indian women. It is about ten inches in 
height, perfectly black, and with its arms in the po- 
sition of playing on an instrument. 

" The other three are brass, five or six inches 
high, representing the god Vishnu in different in- 
carnations. The head and body are like a man, 
with four arms, while the lower part of one termi- 
nates in a fish, and of another in a tortoise. In such 
odious forms the Hindoos believe their gods de- 
scended to the earth. How is it possible that the 
mind of man can be so debased as to pay homage to 
such horrid objects ? 

" I now turn with pleasure to the Ollas, or palm 
11 



122 LIFE OF H. PAGE. 

leaves, on which are written the Gospels of Matthew 
and Mark in Cingalese, presented by our Mission- 
aries in Ceylon. The leaves are about fourteen 
inches long and two wide, straight and smooth, writ- 
ten very handsomely on both sides, in perfectly 
straight lines. Perhaps these two Gospels fill one 
hundred and fifty of the leaves, which are connected 
by strings passing through them, so that they can 
be opened and read, or folded very compactly to- 
gether in a small bundle. Another is ' Devout Me- 
ditations in Tamul,' written on the olla by a native 
convert of Swartz, and is used as a school-book on 
4he Malabar coast. It was presented by Christian 
David, from whom we have had many interesting 
communications. 

" I next look at the ear-rings, which were given 
by Catharine Brown to aid the Palestine Mission, 
and were redeemed by some ladies and placed here; 
valued at sixteen dollars. Happy would it be, should 
many of our females cast their useless ornaments 
into the treasury of the Lord. By this means alone, 
many, now enveloped in pagan darkness, might be 
brought to rejoice in the light and salvation of our 
God. Catharine worked while it was day, and is 
now gone to her rest. 

" I here see also a twig from a tree over the grave 
of Harriet Newell. Though her precious dust there 
moulders in a pagan land, she will never regret — 
no, never — the greatest of her sacrifices for a perish- 
ing world. 



TO A YOUNG LADY. 123 

"While sitting here, I cannot but reflect on the 
deplorable condition of those who have not the Gos- 
pel. Contrast our situation with theirs, and it seems 
a paradise. Let us do all in cur power, that the news 
of a Savior may be soon extended to every corner of 
the globe. 

u I left you, my friends, with regret. I hope you 
are all making advances in holiness, as well as in 
Divine knowledge. Live not, my friends, as do 
others. Be eminently devoted to God. Let the luke- 
warm Christian be severely reproved when he be- 
holds your life, and the sinner plainly discern the 
difference between 'him that serveth God and him 
that serveth Him not.' Then will your life be hap- 
py, and at death you shall enter into the joy of your 
Lord. 

" A work of grace seems to be silently progressing 
in this place, and a powerful revival has recently 
commenced in Salem. Pray for me. 

" Your affectionate friend, H. Page." 

To a young lady of a family in which he some 
weeks resided, he wrote the following awakening 
note : 

Sabbath evening, Sept. 19, 1824. 

" My Friend M lives, I fear, alas ! without 

hope, and without God in the world. No title to a 
heavenly inheritance ; no Savior to cheer her in sor- 
row ; none on whom to lean when nature is dissolv- 



124 LIFE OF H. PAGE. 

ing ; none to welcome her to the abodes of the 
blessed. 

" Is such the deplorable state of the friend I am 
addressing ? Ah, M— — , your prospects are gloomy 
indeed ! A few more days of delay, and your proba- 
tion is closed; hope dies; and a long eternity will 
echo and re-echo, wrath to come — wrath to 
come. 

" The less feeling you may have on this subject, 
the more alarming your condition. Up, then, 

M , and flee for life. There is not a moment to 

be lost. While you wait, your sins are increasing; 
the Savior is rejected , the Holy Spirit resisted ; and 
there is reason to fear he will leave you for ever. 

Now what is your decision % What course, M , 

will you take ? Now salvation is offered. The door 
of mercy is open, after so many years spent in sin. 
Come, I entreat you, as a penitent prodigal, and cast 
yourself on the mercy of an injured and bleeding 
Savior. Your friend and well-wisher, 

"H. Page." 

The following is the last letter which has come to 
hand, written previous to his leaving Coventry : 

" Coventry, Friday P. M. Nov. 26, 1824. 

(Tj C B ) 

" As I take my pen, I call to mind that once you 
indulged the hope that you were a friend of God, 



CORRESPONDENCE. 125 

and even contemplated uniting- with the visible 

church. What, C , is now the state of your 

soul ? 

" Am I then addressing an impenitent sinner 1 If 
so, what shall I say? The exhortations you re- 
ceived while under the strivings of the Spirit, can 
hardly have ceased ringing in your ears. The 
threatenings of Jehovah, and a long catalogue of 
sins, still lie against you. An opening eternity and a 
judgment day are just before you — and here you 
live on the forbearance of God, with no Savior to 
befriend you, and no Holy Spirit to console you; 
and all your life, through fear of death, subject to 
bondage. Your case, my friend, is deplorable in- 
deed ; and in view of it, what will you do ? Will you 
still give no listening ear to the tender expostula- 
tions of a dying Savior ? Will you continue to 
grieve that Holy Comforter by whose influence 

alone you can be saved 1 Will you not stop, C , 

and make the interests of your soul the first object 
of your life ? Wait not for another revival of reli- 
gion. Before it shall arrive the monument of death 

may tell the passing stranger : ' Here lies C 

B .' Now is your best— -perhaps your only 

time. Let me affectionately urge you, by all the mo- 
tives which can be drawn from heaven, earth and 
hell, to escape for your life. After waiting so long, 
Christ is still willing to receive you as a humble 
penitent trusting in his mercy, and in no other cha- 



126 LIFE OF H. PAGE. 

racter can you ever be saved. Methinks, while you 
read, you will come to the resolution, that, let others 
do what they will, you ' will serve the Lord.' Do 
you resolve thus % God and yourself only know. 
" Affectionately yours, H. Page." 

Mr. Page's connection with the Tract Society at 
Boston, led to his appointment as Depositary of the 
American Tract Societ}?-, formed at New- York in 
the spring of 1825. A few items of his history, pre- 
vious to his leaving his native place, remain yet to 
be gathered. 

" During the eight years that he passed under my 
ministry," says his respected pastor, " he exhibited 
much decision of religious character, and much zeal 
and activity in the cause of Christ. Uncontrolable 
providences only could keep him from the house of 
God, where he performed a prominent part in his 
praises, and in the instruction of the Sabbath School. 
Very few sermons were preached on the Sabbath, 
or on week days, which he did not hear, and the 
plans of which he did not preserve in writing. In 
seasons of the special outpouring of the Holy Spirit, 
he was one of the first to * hear a sound of going in 
the tops of the mulberry trees,' and to bestir himself. 
He was in the conference and prayer-meetings, and 
his voice was heard in earnest supplication for the 
conversion of sinners. 



his pastor's testimony. 127 

" He would converse faithfully with the careless, 
and search out and report to the pastor those who 
were seriously impressed. In the examination of 
candidates for admission to the church, not unfre- 
quent references were made to his conversation as a 
means of awakening their attention ; and there is 
evidence that he contributed an important instru- 
mentality in the conversion of many sinners. In 
seasons of spiritual declension he did not feel that 
direct efforts for the conversion of men might be 
omitted ; and though few attended the prayer-meet 
ings, he was sure to be one. If a little company 
united in concert prayer, or private prayer, he was 
among them. For a long period, three or four breth- 
ren, of whom he was one, devoted one evening in 
each week to prayer in the meeting-house, where, 
in secret, and without light for the natural eye, they 
supplicated the descent of the Spirit. Neither the 
members of the church nor the pastor knew of the 
meeting, till, at the approach of winter, it was trans- 
ferred to his study ; they received a large accession 
to their number ; were cheered with the special 
presence of the Comforter, and it proved the com- 
mencement of an interesting revival of religion. 

" In seasons of stupidity, brother Page found in- 
dividuals in whose spiritual welfare he manifested 
much interest by conversing and praying with them ; 
and his labors in this respect were not in vain in the 
Lord. From the time of his conversion, so long as 



128 LIFE OF II. PAGE. 

a resident here, he was ardent, active, and untiring 
this characterizes the man ; and his efforts were 
'principally directed to one object — the conversion oj 
sinners" 

A valuable friend, (Mr. D W ,) who was 

very intimate with Mr. Page, says, that, at the close 
of religious meetings, his mind would often become 
intensely fixed upon the conversion of some impeni- 
tent individual. He would address the individual 
with great solemnity, urging an immediate compli- 
ance with the terms of the Gospel ; and as his friend 
accompanied him homewards, such was sometimes 
the pressure upon his heart, that they would seek a 
retired spot, and there, even in the depth of winter, 
kneei and plead with God for the person's salvation. 
His anxiety for individuals was frequently such, that 
he could not rest, but would leave his business to 
seek an interview with them, or address them by 
letter, or pray for them. Many of these efforts were 
so retired that his wife came to the knowledge of 
them only as he alluded to them in their private 
supplications to God. 

" At social interviews,'' says the same friend, 
" when a number of relatives met, and God and the 
value of the soul seemed to be forgotten, he would 
sometimes beckon to me, and we would go out, seek 
a place of retirement, join in prayer for some perish- 
ing sinner ; and then return to the company under 
the hallowed influence of such an exercise." 



TESTIMONIES IN COVENTRY. 129 

Captain T — — , a few days after his death, with 
tears fast flowing down his cheeks, bore witness to 
his fidelity to souls, and added: "But for the efforts 
of Mr. Page and a dear Christian friend of his, my 
soul, to all human view, must have been lost." 

Rev. M B says : " I was attending Mr. 

Page's school when he became a Christian ; and 
never shall I forget how he talked to us with tears, 
and prayed with us. It was then that my mind was 
first seriously impressed" 

Mr. D N says, Mr. Page's faithful con- 
versation, as they were on the way to a prayer-meet- 
ing, was the means of tearing from him a false hope, 
and bringing him at length, as he trusts, to the sav- 
ing knowledge of Christ. 

Another .estimable friend (Mr. C T ) 

says : "His Christian character was unusually even, 
and unusually elevated. He deeply sympathized 
with those in affliction and trials, and was ever 
ready to minister to their necessities, and contribute 
to their comfort. But his great object was to benefit 
the soul ; to bring the impenitent to Christ, and to 
awaken and quicken the people of God. I have 
often heard persons, in relating their religious ex- 
ercises, say, ' Mr. Page's conversation first led me to 
think seriously of my soul and eternity.' 

" There was an interesting little meeting" (alluded 
to above by the pastor) " of which I think he was 
the mover, in which a few brethren, residing four or 



130 LIFE OF H. PAGE. 

five miles apart, united in secret for prayer, and 
which was continued for about two years. They 
conversed, they wept, they prayed. He encouraged 
them to persevere ; occasionally selected particular 
individuals as subjects of united prayer; and some- 
times would earnestly inquire, ' Is there any thing 
whereby we cannot be agreed in this thing ? Is there 
any unkind feeling among us ? What is it that hin- 
ders the blessing ¥ and this course was pursued till 
God appeared in the sawation of sinners. 

"Many, very many, with whom he conversed and 
prayed, were impressed at different times, little be- 
ing known of his efforts for them till their hopeful 
conversion. His anxiety for them was often very 
great. He was distressed for them. From time to 
time he would say to a Christian brother, l pray for 
such a one ;' and it seemed that he could not give 
over till they were brought to repentance; and some- 
times almost, that he must sink unless they were 
converted. 

" He loved those who reflected the image of 
Christ, and to pray, and weep, and rejoice with them. 
I have just met a brother, who said, Were I to recall 
former scenes I could tell many times when I have 
kneeled down alone with Brother Page to pray." 

One consideration that satisfied his mind of the 
propriety of changing his sphere of effort, was, that 
he could think of no young person within the bounds 



SUCCESS. 131 

0/ the congregation, (and the young he ever consi- 
dered as, under God, the hope of the church,) whom 
he had not seriously addressed, either personally or 
by letter, on the subject of their salvation. Many of 
them had already united with the church, while 
others had become apparently insensible to the mo- 
tives of the Gospel. 

We have taken some pains to ascertain the subse- 
ouent history of the several individuals to whom the 
moving appeals inserted, or referred to above, were 
addressed, and the initials of many of whom are 
given ; and though four or five have continued still 
far from God, and two or three, who appeared to 
run well for a time, have faltered in their course, 
and the subsequent history of several is unknown, yet 
upwards of thirty are recognized, who have either 
hopefully died in Christ, or still live adorning their 
profession of faith in him. 

A reference has also been made to lists of scholars 
belonging to the two schools in Coventry, taught by 
Mr. Page ; one for five and the other for two win- 
ters, being one hundred and ninet}r-five in all j the 
history of seventy of whom is unknown ; and of the 
remaining one hundred and twenty-five, eighty-four 
are thought to have given evidence of piety, and six 
are preachers of the Gospel. 

It is probable that his efforts for individuals were 
the means of increasing the obduracy of some, and 
of exciting in others a degree of personal hostility. 



132 LIFE OF H. PAGE. 

The danger of both these results he seriously con- 
sidered ; and scrupulously endeavored to direct all 
his efforts with that kindness and discretion which 
should give no just occasion for either. But he came 
to the deliberate conclusion, that, if he would be truly 
faithful, such results could not be wholly avoided * 
and made up his mind to do what the claims of God 
and of perishing souls required, leaving the results 
with him. 

To withhold the truths of the Gospel, because 
they may be perverted, would be to stop the mouth 
of every minister, and prevent the circulation of the 
pure word of God itself, "We," says the great 
apostle to the Gentiles, " are a sweejt savor of Christ 
in them that are saved, and in them that perish. To 
the one we are the savor of death unto death, and 
to the other the savor of life unto life." Such is the 
fact with every form in which the Gospel can be 
presented, though by " an angel from heaven;" and 
in the mind of Him who commanded it to be 
" preached to every creature," it constitutes no ob- 
jection, and no excuse for neglect of duty, in any 
one, from the preacher addressing the great con- 
gregation, to the Bible and Tract distributer, the 
Sabbath School teacher, and the humblest Christian 
who speaks a word to one of his fellow-men for 
Christ and eternity. 



CHAPTER VII. 



ffROM THE TIME OF HIS CONNECTION WITH THE 
AMERICAN TRACT SOCIETY TO THE REVIVAL 

OF 1831 EMBRACING THE PERIOD OF THE 

SIGNAL DISPLAYS OF DIVINE GRACE IN THE 
TRACT AND BIBLE HOUSES. 

We now follow our brother into a new sphere .of 
action : a plain and humble Christian, a stranger in 
a large city full of display, and dissipation, and 
crime ; and with his hands full of responsible labor 
for a public institution. 

Being appointed Agent of the General Depository 
of the American Tract Society, formed at New- 
York in 1825, he arrived in that city, October 10, of 
that year. He had, a few months before, been spend- 
ing some time in Norwich, Conn, in drawing and 
engraving, and was strongly inclined to comply with 
a request to locate himself there ; but he felt that the 
opening for usefulness in connection with the Ame- 
rican Tract Society, was such, that he " could not 
conscientiously decline it." He had visited the city; 
and the responsibilities involved, with the question 
whether his family could live on the compensation 
12 



i34 LIFE OF H. PAGE. 

proposed, caused him to pass a sleepless night, till 
the text, " Trust in the Lord and do good, so shall 
thou dwell in the land, and verily thou shalt be Jed" 
resolved his doubts, and he determined to follow the 
indications of Providence, and commit his way to 
Him. 

The pressure of duty, of which he speaks in the 
following letter, rested upon him henceforward till 
his death ; rendering his future correspondence com- 
paratively brief, and confined to the points of practi- 
cal interest which had at the moment the strongest 
hold on his mind. 

" New- York, July 11, 1826. 

11 Honored and dear Parents, — I can write 
only a few hasty lines. My time is all so occupi- 
ed, that I can devote very little to friends — far less 
than I could desire, even to my dear father and 
mother. 

" Cousin H P left us last week for Troy, 

on her way to Vermont. She is an interesting girl. 
Since she came here, I think there has been a ma- 
terial change in her character. She once thought 
that she lived in the enjoyment of religion, but 
grieved the Spirit, and for a long time neglected 
prayer. I think now there are many favorable indi- 
cations in her case. 

" I have lately taken the superintendence of a 



NEW FIELD OF LABOR. 135 

Branch Sunday School, connected with the Central 
Church in Broorne-street ; the old school to retain 
one hundred and fifty scholars, and mine to be in- 
creased till they are equal, and then add to both. 
We have two large and commodious rooms; and 
hope both schools, if we can get teachers, will soon 
embrace five hundred scholars. I don't know but 1 
am taking too much upon me; but the request was 
so urgent, that I could not deny it. With Divine in- 
fluence, it is a great field for usefulness. 

" I heard that a Wednesday evening prayer- 
meeting was attended in Coventry, and that but three 

male members were present besides Rev. Mr. C . 

Alas, how fallen ! Is he not almost discouraged ? 
Shall there be no ' Aarons and Hurs ' to hold up his 
hands ? 

11 Your affectionate son, 

" H. Page." 

Just before leaving his family, the young lady 
above alluded to, wrote him a letter, expressing her 
sense of the dangerous condition in which she 
had been living, and her need of Divine grace and 
strength to keep her from again falling, and adds : 

" I feel, cousin H. that you have been an instru- 
ment in the hand of God of awakening me, and di- 
recting me to a throne of mercy ; and could I ap- 
proach it in an acceptable manner, I know you 



136 LIFE OF H. PAGE. 

would be amply rewarded for all the anxiety you 
have felt on my account. I beg of you still to pray 
the Lord to have mercy upon me, to give me a 
sense of sin, to guard me against temptation, and to 
forgive and receive me." 

From Troy, she again wrote him a full letter, de- 
scribing her religious feelings, thanking him for his 
fidelity, and asking his prayers ; and soon proceed- 
ed on her way to Vermont ; but before arriving at the 
place of her destination she was called to her eternal 
state. 

On the 15th September one of the officers of the 
church in Coventry wrote him, bewailing the preva- 
lent declension in religion. " The vacancy caused 
by your removal," he adds, "is not filled. Many 
who used to lead in our prayer-meetings are re- 
moved ; others have retired, and the efficient, ener- 
getic members of the church are greatly diminished ; 
yet I hope there are some who are mourning over 
the desolations of Zion 

~ In a letter from Mr. Page to his parents, Decem- 
ber 15, he gives the following items : 

" Last evening we had the male and female chil- 
dren of our two Sabbath Schools arranged in the 
church each side of the middle aisle, filling the slips 
from the pulpit to the door: one hundred and thirty- 
four boys and nearly as many girls, with forty teach- 



IN NEW-YORK. 137 

ers, were present. Rev. Mr. J addressed them, 

and commanded the strictest attention. 

11 We have at this time a great press of business* 
Within a little more than a week I have sent on\ for 
different parts of our country, not far from 1,700,000 
pages of Tracts. Should each Tract be accompanied 
by the Divine blessing in sanctifying and saving a 
soul, what an amount of good would be effected !" 

We cannot but feel grateful for a few such letters 
as the following, addressed to his beloved parents ; 
detailing with child-like simplicity, as a means of 
rendering them content that he should be absent 
from them, some of the indications that God was 
blessing his efforts. 

Sabbath eve. 10 o'clock, March 11, 1827. 

" My dear Parents, — Expecting an opportunity 
to send to-morrow, I improve a few moments to speak 
of the goodness of God to us, and of some interesting 
things which have recently occurred. 

" O. R. K. arrived on Thursday. I hoped to hear 
by him, of a powerful revival of religion in Coven- 
try, and that many of my acquaintance were sub- 
jects of it ; but I am disappointed. What can be the 
matter ? Why is not the church awake ? Is any 
darling sin of more value than immortal souls? I 
will, however, give thanks, that some have been 
12* 



138 LIFE OF H. PAGE. 

born into the kingdom of Christ. Remember me 
with much affection to them all. 

" Besides a press of labor at the Depository, I have 
my hands full of business more directly connected 
with the welfare of souls. 

" In the Sabbath School under my charge are 
about twenty teachers, one half of whom were, not 
long since, without hope. Six of that number, pro- 
mising young men, now give evidence of piety, and 
the remainder, I think, are unusually serious. One 
of the little boys, I found to-day to be distressed for 
his sins, though the scholars in general are very 
careless. The school to-day consisted of one hun- 
dred and sixty-two boys. In the female school there 
have also been some conversions. 

" A Teacher's 'prayer-meeting has been held 
weekly for both schools, and has been very solemn 
and interesting. At the last meeting about thirty 
were present. In sustaining this, considerable re- 
sponsibility rests upon me. 

" In the congregation too, a wide field for effort 
is open, and there are very few efficient male mem- 
bers of the church. About fifteen attended the last 
inquiry meeting; a number were deeply affected. 
There have been several instances of conversion be- 
sides those mentioned above. 

" In the Tract and Bible houses we have lately 
had a season of uncommon interest. A work of 
grace commenced a few weeks since among the 



INTERESTING DAY. 139 

young women employed in the two houses in fold- 
ing and stiching Bibles and Tracts, as the fruits of 
which we now number about sixteen hopeful con- 
versions. It has been a most interesting and won- 
derful display of God's power and grace. On one 
day seven of them hope that they were brought from 
nature's darkness into the light and liberty of the 
Gospel. That was one of the most interesting days 
of my life. Twice or thrice I was sent for to pray 
with them, and to take the hand of those who had 
just been brought to bow at the Savior's feet, while, 
with tears streaming from their eyes, they expressed 
the hope that they had surrendered themselves en- 
tirely to Him. Two of these had thought that I 
talked too severely, and discouraged them ; they now 
wished to thank me for the very efforts in their be- 
half, of which they had before complained. To see 
those who were brought to hope in Christ clinging 
around their former companions in sin, and with 
tears beseeching them to come at once to the Savior 
they had found so precious, was enough to move a 
heart of stone. I could say much more ; but this 
must suffice. It was indeed the wonderful power of 
God. This week we design to have a general meet- 
ing for all employed in both houses, male and female, 
and hope God has still greater blessings in store. 
The meetings have hitherto been sustained chiefly 
by those connected with the societies, and an active 
Christian, who resides near. 



140 LIFE OF H. PAGE. 

" I say these things, that you may see that I have 
a field in which I may labor to good advantage — 
whether I enter it with all my heart, is another 
question. 

" My love to my dear sister. Your affectionate 
son, H. Page." 

We well remember the day above alluded to. A 
glow of heavenly ardor burned in our brother's coun- 
tenance ; and, when attempting to pursue his accus- 
tomed business, his mind seemed scarcely to know 
how his hands were employed. His whole soul 
was on fire with love to souls, and joy and exultation 
in the triumphs of Divine grace. " Never before,' 
said he, " have I so sensibly felt the presence of the 
Spirit, or the force of those words : ' Stand still, and 
see the salvation of the Lord.' " 

In a letter to his parents, August 21, 1827, he ex- 
presses great alarm at the prevalence of iniquity and 
infidelity in the city, and mentions that a club of in- 
fidels regularly assembled on Sabbath evening, in a 
spacious room, where their principles were inculca- 
ted, in every alluring and deceptive form, upon the 
minds of hundreds. 

" Pray for us," he proceeds. " Were it not that 
the Lord of hosts is jealous for his own glory, we 
should have nothing to expert but to see the wicked 
triumph. When will GodJs people put on the harness ! 

" I b^ive been exerting myself to have a number of 



IN NEW-YORK. 141 

theological students engaged among the foor and 
destitute of the city, during their vacations. The 
Central Church will employ one or two. It is be- 
lieved that not far from 100,000 inhabitants of this 
city attend on no regular religious instruction. I 
ask again, pray for us. We need now forty mis- 
sionaries with the zeal of Paul, to proclaim God's 
truth to these perishing multitudes. But no perse- 
vering, energetic means are yet adopted to obtain 
any." 

The facts concerning the infidel meetings above 
referred to, Mr. Page at this time carefully collected 
and published in the religious papers, as an incite- 
ment to Christians generally to redouble their exer- 
tions. 

One of the four individuals who so long met in 
concert for private prayer, writes to Mr. Page, Au- 
gust 25, that he had just attended a prayer-meeting 
at his father's, where his children were present on a 
visit, and adds, " While pleading for them, my heart 
was very much enlarged; 1 seemed to climb up near 
to my heavenly Father; and calling to mind the 
many, O how many, precious seasons I had spent in 
retirement with you and my two other friends, in 
pouring out our supplications especially for our 
children, I seemed to 'travail in birth' for them, 
till Christ should 'be formed in them,' the hope of 
glory." 

To this letter he replied as follows : 



142 LIFE OF H. PAGE. 

11 Thursday evening, N. York, Sept 13. 

" My dear Brother, — Your very kind and 
fraternal letter almost overwhelmed us. You know, 
my dear brother, the tender chords of a parent's 
heart; and the thrilling sensations produced when 
they are made to vibrate by the efforts and prayers 
of Christian friends, who feel for the salvation of 
our children. As you described the scene at my 
father's, and showed me my dear brethren pleading 
for the souls of my children, I could only weep with 
gratitude, that some supplications had arisen for 
them from those who stood near the mercy seat. 
You will, I trust, remember them still. You are 
not forgotten in some of our little praying circles. 

" I was pained at your description of the prayer- 
meeting, where no male member of the church but 
yourself was present. That wretched sentiment, 
which releases Christians from moral obligation 
during harvest-time, you know I could never away 
with. Give my love to all the little circle; and 
though we meet not again here, may we meet in 
heaven. 

" Your affectionate friend and brother, 

"H. Page." 

Under date of November 4, 1827, we have a let- 
ter from Mr. J. H. then at Mobile, which presents 
another example of the fidelity of Mr. Page to the 
members of his own household. Mrs. H- was 



TO A LADY. 143 

then residing in the family of Mr. Page, and had 
written to her husband informing of his fidelity in 
warning, instructing and praying for her, and of the 
joy and peace she then had in believing in Jesus, 
Mr. Page had also written to confirm the joyful 
tidings. The deep emotions of the husband are 
poured out in a full sheet. 

44 It is impossible," he says, " to express the emo- 
tions awakened by your truly affectionate letter. My 
heart is so full that I scarcely know how to thank 
you for all your goodness to me, and above all for 
what you have done for my companion. O my dear 
Sir, what must be your happiness to have been the 
instrument in the hands of the Holy Spirit in bring- 
ing peace to the soul of our beloved A . Her 

whole mind seems bent upon one theme — the love 
of Christ." 

The following is at least another evidence of the 
various methods he adopted to awaken the attention 
of individuals to the concerns of eternity. 

" Lines received by a lady uncommonly skillfuv on, the harp 
and the piano. 

4{ Permit a stranger to express the delight with 
which, in the stillness of the evening, he has paused 
to listen to those notes, which have been so sweetly, 
so plaintively, or so wildly obedient to the skill of 



144 LIFE OF H. PAGE. 

your fingers and the emotions of your soul. Par* 
don me if I express some of the reflections awaken- 
ed in my own mind. 

" ' Alas/ thought I, 4 those fingers which produce 
such thrilling emotions will soon be motionless in 
death. Those keys will no more tremble at their 
touch; those notes will be hushed to silence ; and 
the steps of the stranger be no more arrested except 
by a plaintive dirge from some friend of her who 
sleeps in death. What then will be her state ? Is 
her heart now prepared to sing that song which 
none but the redeemed can sing ? Are her sins for- 
given ? Is Christ, the bleeding Lamb, her chief be- 
loved ? This to me is all unknown.' / 

u That you mdij be one of the performers in that 
grand chorus, which ascribes ' Blessing, and honor, 
and power to Him that sitteth upon the throne, and 
to the Lamb for ever and ever,' is the earnest prayer 
of an affectionate friend, who will probably be per- 
sonally unknown to you until the judgment of the 
great day.' 5 

To his parents he writes, December 5 : M The 
Lord is again doing wonders in the Bible and Tract 
houses. The work of grace seemed to commence 
anew about three weeks since, and more than twenty 
have recently indulged the hope that they have been 
born of God. We have indeed passed through in- 
teresting scenes during this period. Last Thursday 



IN NEW-YORK. 145 

was observed by a number of us as a day of fasting 
and prayer. There has been one instance of hopeful 
conversion to-day." 

An estimable and pious young lady (Miss B ) 

has informed the writer, that, on becoming acquaint- 
ed with Mr. Page, in 1827, he soon inquired if she 
was u a professor of religion ?" and again, if she 
" had an interest in Christ l n if she " thought it de- 
sirable ?" if she " had sought to obtain it?" if she 
" had renounced the world, and resolved to live for 
the glory of God ?" could she ;; give him the reason 
why she had not ?" The impressions made on her 
mind by repeated conversations were such, that she 
could not rest till she found rest in Christ. " This 
result," she says, " I cannot but view as in answer 
to fervent prayer, and in fulfillment of the promise, 
c them that honor me, I will honor.' His life was a 
living epistle. Often, to this day, has the solemn 
question, 4 Are you a professor of religion V warned 
me of danger, and summoned me to duty!" 

"New-York, February 8, 1828. 
" My dear Parents — We have felt much anxiety 
respecting my father's health, fearing that God may 
take him from us, and that it may be soon. 

" I know, my dear father, that I have done many 
things which have tiied your feelings, and that some 
of them have been inconsistent with filial duty and 
13 



146 LIFE OF H. PAGE. 

Christian character. These I would beg you to for* 
give ; and while you continue here, cease not to re- 
member me before the Throne of Grace, where we 
often attempt to present the wants of our dear parents, 
both for time and eternity. 

" I am now placed in circumstances more solemn 
than ever before, having been consecrated as an offi- 
cer in the church with which I am connected, by 
prayer and the laying on of hands ; and if I do not 
have help from God, instead of advancing, I shall 
only hinder his cause. The work of grace in our 
congregation is gradually progressing. Thirty-five 
w r ere present at the last inquiry meeting, and several 
have recently indulged hope, some of whom are 
teachers in my school. 

" Last evening we had a meeting, which all in the 
Bible and Tract houses, male and female, were in- 
vited to attend. It was very full and solemn. The 
day was observed by the females in the two houses 
as a day of prayer, and of special thanksgiving to 
God for what he has done for them the past year; 
it being just one year from last evening, that the 
first prayer meeting was attended with them. 

" Do w r rite immediately. Your affectionate son, 

"H. Page." 

At this time, his pastor being ill, and there being 
an urgent call for ministerial labor, it was proposed 
to request Rev. r»lr. O to leave his charge in 



IN NEW-YORK. 147 

Coventry, and labor a few weeks in the city. In 
endeavoring to induce the church with which he 
had formerly been connected to yield to this request, 
Mr. Page thus wrote, under date of February 2S : 

"I do believe, that, could the good people of Co- 
ventry come here, and see for themselves the great 
want of such labor as Mr. C. could bestow; could 
they see the thousands here going down to the grave 
and to perdition without instruction ; and so many 
as there are among us solemnly affected in view of 
their sins, I am sure they would be willing to make 
any sacrifice that the great work of salvation may 
not be retarded. There is another world than this. 
Pastor and people cannot be for ever together on 
earth — death will sunder the strongest ties ; and in 
heaven, how must it enhance the joys of the blessed, 
that by means of their willing sacrifices here, multi- 
tudes have been prepared to unite with them in songs 
for Redeeming grace. I hope the dear brethren 
will look at the subject with enlarged views, and 
pray over it, and be prepared to say, 'The will of 
the Lord be done.' " 

The following extract from a letter to his friend 
A K , dated April 8, shows his ardent as- 
pirations and hopes for the rapid extension of Christ's 
kingdom : 

" What, my dear brother, is the Lord about to do 
for our country and the world ! What mean the in- 
teresting movements of the last half year? When 



148 LIFE OF H. FACE. 

I look at them, and view the hand of God in them, 
my blood chills, and I anticipate with astonishment 
the still more wonderful operations of his hand. 
This is indeed an eventful day. Every enterptize 
for Zion prospers. What would once have occu- 
pied an age, is now performed as in a day. I 
rejoice, my dear brother, that you have girded on 
the harness, and placed yourself in the ranks of 
those who may lead numbers on to conflict and to 
victory. Be not dismayed. Even one onset, if you 
never have strength to make another, may put to 
flight, in this day of God's power, an army of his 
enemies." 

The following day he was cheered by a letter 
from E. F. H., who, while a teacher in his Sab- 
bath School, had been the subject of his deep anxie- 
ty and faithful labors for his salvation ; had obtained 
hope ; united with the church ; and was then a 
member of Middlebury College, pursuing a course 
preparatory to the Gospel Ministry. 

"Blessed, thrice blessed," he says, "was that 
hour, when the Lord directed my steps to the Sab- 
bath School, where I formed a friendship with one, 
which I hope will continue to all eternity. Yes, 
dear brother, it was your ki?id voice that was the in- 
strument, in the hand of God, of arresting a thought- 
less wretch, and leading him to the Savior. Hence- 
forth you need never fear to converse with the im- 
penitent, even with the careless worldling. I would 



TO HIS SISTER. 149 

address myself to you as my spiritual father, and still 
seek from you that advice and direction, which you 
will not refuse to give." 

u New-York, April 18, 1828. 

My dear Sister, — i suppose you are occupied 
with the cares and concerns of your family, and of 
this unsatisfying world ; but let me ask, what are 
your prospects of a better state hereafter % Will any 
future season be more favorable to secure that good 
part which shall never be taken from you 7 O my 
sister, what will you do, should death arrive be- 
fore your sins are forgiven? No parent, or hus- 
band, or brother can then help you. Prayer will 
cease to be availing. The Savior himself will be 
against you. All hope must retire for ever. 

" Are you clinging to an old hope, which gives 
you composure, while you have no present evidence 
that your peace is made with God ? If so, abandon 
it. Such a hope is often a prelude to a more awful, 
because unexpected doom. 

" Your children are rising around you ; and they 
need a godly mother, to pray with them, and guide 
them to the Friend of sinners ; and they may be 
for ever lost for want of such a guide. Ah ! could 
you see them standing at the bar of Christ, uncon- 
verted through an affectionate mother's neglect of 
their souls, how would the scene rend your heart 
with anguish. 

13* 



150 LIFE OF H. PAGE. 

"But I wile hope better things. I will hope that 
they shall have a pious mother, and that speedily. 
May I not? What will you reply? God grant 
you may answer, ' Yes. From this hour I surren- 
der myself to Chr 'st. I will be his devoted follower. 
I will do all in ?ny power for the salvation of my 
ch'ldren, and for others, until my dying day; and 
lea re my soul with God, to dispose of me and all 
events according to his holy pleasure.' I have time 
to uay no more. 

" Your affectionate brother, H. Page." 

On occasion of the death of the father of Mrs. 
Page, Mr. P. wrote a letter of consolation to the 
surviving sisters, in which he says : 

" And now, my dear sisters, let us who remain, 
awake to duty. A dying world is perishing around 
us ; lost sinners are daily entering the world of wo ; 
and have we done all we can to prevent it ? Have 
we done all we can for our impenitent relatives and 
friends ? Have we prayed for them, and labored 
with them, as our consciences tell us we might have 
done ? If there is one impenitent individual within 
the circle of our influence, whom we have not done 
all we can to bring to Christ, let no time be lost; let 
us do our duty to that soul. Let us in all respects 
live and act as dying sinners, who have to render to 
God a strict account of our stewardship. Thus 
doing, we may hope this solemn dispensation will 
t>e sanctified to us and others." 



SIGNAL SUCCESS. 151 

May 24th, he wrote a kind and filial letter to his 
parents, expressing his ardent desire to be with them 
and "smooth their way down the decline of life;" 
tendering them temporal aid as they might need, 
and endeavoring to strengthen their faith ; to which 
he adds : 

" I should like to tell you of several interesting 
incidents of the present week, but have no time. 
Give thanks to God that such a worm is used for 
the benefit of any soul." 

His pastor having visited Europe for his health, 
Mr. Page, June 14, transmitted to him a narrative 
of what God had done for those employed in the 
Tract and Bible houses, hoping that it might be 
used as an incitement to efforts for those similarly 
employed for the kindred institutions in London. 

In this communication, he states, that more than 
one hundred young women were then employed in 
the Tract and Bible houses, and that of these God 
had brought " between fifty and sixty hopefully into 
his kingdom. One of them was convicted by means 
of the truths which caught her eye while folding the 
Tract, ■ Day of Judgment. 5 " u Many sheets of the 
word of God and Tracts," he says, " as they have 
been folded and stitched, have been moistened with 
the tears of the convicted sinner and the broken- 
hearted penitent ; and thence gone out on errands of 
mercy to a perishing world. Every day at twelve 
o'clock, the females of each of the two houses de- 



152 LIFE OF H. PAGE. 

vote a part of their recess, in their retired rooms, to 
prayer and praise ; and on every Thursday evening 
we have a general meeting for prayer and confer- 
ence, conducted by three or four brethren, the binder 
and printer of the two societies cordially taking part 
in the same." 

A few days after this, he states that the seam- 
stresses employed by Mrs. J , residing not far 

distant, had also joined in the meetings in the Tract 
and Bible houses ; that he had personally conversed 
with several of them, and that five of them had ob- 
tained hope in Christ. 

At this time he was cheered with a letter from his 
endeared fellow-laborer in the societies' houses, (Mr. 
J. H. T.) who was then in the country, containing 
messages for their mutual charge ; exhorting those 
who were indulging a hope to examine well its 
foundation, and warning those who remained im- 
penitent to " be timely wise. ,; 

" Religion," he says, " is a personal thing ; and 
let others do what they will, as for us, my dear 
brother, may we put on the whole armor of God 
and go forward. Although absent in body, I do not 
forget our friends in the societies' houses. God has 
done much, yet there remaineth more to be accom- 
plished ; and we, as co-workers, have much land yet 
to possess. May He, who has hitherto helped us, 
still be our guide and stay ; and then, if our faith 
fail not, we have nothing to fear. Tell our dear 



SIGNAL SUCCESS. 153 

sisters in Christ to persevere like good soldiers of 
the cross, counting nothing too dear to part with for 
him. Tell anxious souls to make haste and escape 
for their lives; submitting themselves to Christ, and 
owning him as their rightful sovereign and Lord. 
Say to careless sinners, 4 How can ye escape, if ye 
neglect so great salvation? 7 ' Turn ye, turn ye, why 
will ye die V " 

Having a desire to learn, as far as practicable, 
what are the lasting results of these efforts among 
the females of the societies' houses, a list of fifty-nine 
who obtained hope in Christ while the efforts above 
referred to continued, has been placed in the hands 
of the writer, one of whom soon died, and all the re- 
maining fifty-eight have connected themselves with 
evangelical churches : viz. thirteen with Protest- 
ant Episcopal churches ; fourteen with Baptist 
churches; twenty-two with Presbyterian, five with 
Reformed Dutch, and four with Methodist churches. 
Five of these were among the seven mentioned 
March 11, 1827, as having obtained hope in one 
day ; and ih irty-six each gave by request a written 
narrative of her own religious exercises. 

It is an interesting fact, that, though Mr. Page 
knew that those for whom he here labored were 
connected with different religious denominations, he 
neither knew nor wished to know to which most of 
the individuals respectively belonged. 



154 LIFE OF H. PAGE. 

"Sabbath evening, near ten, June 30, 182B. 

(To Mrs. Page, then in Coventry.) 

" We have had a precious season to-day. The 
great Master of the feast has indeed been present 
with us at his table. Twenty-six, I think, united 
with the church from the world. Among them 
were Jive of the teachers of my Sabbath School, and 
one who had been a teacher, with four or five 
scholars of the female school. 

" I have learned this evening, that Miss J , 

who has been a thoughtless girl, and was this 
morning at church in great distress, has come out 
rejoicing, which is heart-rending to some of the 
family who are left. They were at our meeting 
this evening, borne down with a sense of sin ; and 
as I spoke to one of them, she sobbed aloud. God 
has been in our meeting to-night. An awful solem- 

nity has pervaded it. Brother D and I held 

an inquiry meeting for Sabbath scholars, at a quar- 
ter before seven. More than twenty were present, 

and some of them deeply affected. A M 

seems to feel in some degree her deplorable con- 
dition ; and says her mind has been impressed ever 
since I spoke to her a Sabbath or two since. God 
grant that she may flee to Christ. 

" In passing out of church this P. M., I remarked 

to Mr. M , that I observed he was separated 

from his wife at the communion season. He could 
hardly reply. I begged him, for his wife's sake, 



ABUNDANT LABORS. 155 

and for his own soul's sake, to seek an interest in 
Christ. He grasped my hand, and could hardly- 
let me go. Miss. C appears to be wide awake 

in religion — a changed creature indeed. 

" My dear companion, let the fire be kindled in. 
your own heart, if it is not already kindled there; 
for we have a rising family all in their sins, and let 
us plead that they may not be passed by. 

" I yesterday visited the sick-bed of Mrs. C . 

It is sweet and refreshing to see one, who feels that 
she may be on the borders of the grave, so calm, so 
united to her Savior, a.id so sweetly reposing in 
his arms. 

" This same Comforter may be yours. He is 
alike ready to pour his consolations into the soul of 
all who will confide in him, and be his willing 
and obedient servants. You say there is something 
wrong in your baart, — prostrate yourself at the foot 
of the cross, and let the bleeding love of a dying 
Savior subdue and purify it. There only can its 
errors be corrected. 

" Your affectionate husband, 

"H. Page." 

July 15, he writes to an intimate friend : " I cannot 
but bless God that in his Providence he has placed 
me in this city, where there is so much opportunity, 
and so urgent a call to labor for souls. I assure you 
I am never in want of something to do directly for 



156 LrFE OF H. PAGE. 

this object. I dare not enlarge my sphere of effort. 
I am already attempting so much, that it is but poorly 
done. 

" The Sabbath Schools are a most interesting field 
for Christian exertion. I have there, as it were, a 
family circle, where we all feel at home. The im- 
portance of this department of effort daily increases 
in my view. When once we have the confidence of 
teachers and scholars, our influence with them is 
almost unbounded. God has done great things for 
us — how great, eternity only can disclose." 

"New-York, July 31, 1828. 

(To Mr. D. W. a friend in deep affliction.) 

" My dear Brother, — Your heart has been 
made to bleed; but the wound, deep as it is, has 
been inflicted by a kind Father. He knew, my dear 
brother, what you needed ; and though it is most 
distressing, it still evinces his covenant faithfulness. 
Your beloved companion and our sister, has only 
passed over Jordan a little before us ; and waits on 
the other shore a brief season, when all her friends, 
whom Jesus loves, shall be with her. 

" I know not by experience the pains you feel ; 
but I know there is a Savior, ' touched with the 
feeling of our infirmity,' who can and will give con- 
solation to all who stay themselves on him. Let us, 
dear brother, feel that we have no abiding city here. 



AFFLICTIONS SAHCTIFIED. 157 

If our ' light afflictions ' wean us from the world, 
and make us more obedient, and faithful, and humble, 
we may have confidence that tkey shall 4 work out 
for us a far more exceeding arrd eternal weight of 
glory.' 

44 The Lord, in tender mercy, is among us by his 
Spirit, and I trust a work is commencing which 
shall shake, in due time, this whole city. How 
blessed to labor in the servic a of such a Master as 
ours, and how animating to see sinners coming 
home to God ! 

" I hope that you will have evidence that your 
trials are sanctified, by your greater activity in our 
Lord's service. Don't let any, with whom you may 
have influence, go down to perdition without your 
faithful and persevering efforts to save them. 

" My love to your dear children. Tell them they 
must be born again, or they and their dear mother 
will be separated for ever. 

" Your affectionate and sympathizing brother, 

"H. Page." 

" Satuiday evening, N. York, Jan. 3, 1829. 

"My dear Father and Mother, — I often think 
of you in this excessively cold weather, and hope 
you are not left to suffer. 

" What is the church doing in Coventry % Are 
they acting in full view of the approaching day of 
account? If they were, I think we should oftener 
14 



158 LIFE OF H. PAGE. 

hear of the conversion of sinners there. When will 
the church awake, and make religion their business 1 
This great concern must not be crowded into an ob- 
scure corner, and the world permitted to occupy the 
whole ground. No ; religion is a business for eter- 
nity ; and he that does not make it the principal 
thing, must suffer immense loss, and will perhaps 
ruin his soul for ever. 

" Prospects with us are still encouraging. One 
hundred and eight have united with our church the 
past year. Seventy-six of them by profession. A 
special interest is now awakened for heads of fami- 
lies, whom we hope to see bowing to the sceptre of 
Immanuel. 

11 Your affectionate son, H. Page." 

To A K , who had just entered on the 

ministry in Ohio, he thus wrote under date of Janu- 
ary 8 : " I trust that, when this reaches you, you 
will be publishing the messages of our ascended Sa- 
vior to lost men. * Lo, I am with you always,' is a 
blessed promise. I cannot but feel that our Mission- 
aries at the West, if they are faithful, will gather 
fruit, precious and abundant. The fields are white, 
and it appears to me that God is about to do wonders 
for that portion of our land. The thousands of pray- 
ers, which have entered into the ears of the Lord of 
Sabaoth, must be answered. He will make his 
truth powerful and effectual. I think you have been 



CORRESPONDENCE. 159 

sent out at a most important period of our history — 
that it is truly the day of enterprise for enlightening 
our destitute millions ; and that salvation is soon to be 
the song of multitudes who have long lived in sin." 

A letter dated, Columbus, Ohio, February 3, from 

F E R , a young gentleman, who had 

been teacher in his Sabbath School, says : " The 
emotions which swell in my bosom, as I attempt to 
address you, are such as I cannot describe. My heart 
is filled with gratitude to God, that he once placed 
me under your particular care, and that there I was 
led to embrace Christ, as my friend and portion." 

In a letter to his parents, March 6, he says : " We 
have now commenced presenting a Tract monthly 
to all the families of the city in which they are cor- 
dially received. The Tract for March is on the Sab- 
bath, and that for April on Intemperance. This I 
think will prove one of the most interesting enter 
prises in which Christians of our city have ever 
been engaged. It will bring them to see and feel the 
moral wants of our neglected population; and the 
Lord, I trust, will prosper it." 

" The Spirit of God is again moving among the 
young women in the Bible house. Two are under 
pungent convictions, who have been peculiarly har 
dened." 

June 23, he says, "We have had an inquiry 
meeting this evening, which I attended alone ; eight 
present, and some cases of deep conviction. There 



160 LIFE OF H. PAGE. 

is now unusual solemnity among the boys in my Sab*' 
bath school God grant it may not be like * the morn- 
ing cloud and early dew. 7 " 

To his parents he wrote, February 17, 1830, men- 
tioning an illness of about ten days. " For six 
hours," he says, " I was in agonizing pain; and 
obtained relief only by the most powerful medical 
assistance. I am confident these are chastisements 
I need, though I fear they have not produced the 
desirable effect. J have been neglecting duty, and 
become cold in my religious services and affections. 
O that I might live as expecting to end my pilgi im- 
age, and render up my final account to God." 

To a friend in deep affliction he writes, September 
14: " You are not left alone. The Lord Jesus 
Christ has said, * I will never leave thee nor forsake 
thee. , Though all earthly friends should fail and 
die, that blessed promise, * J will never leave thee? 
is better than all." 

On Sabbath, October 10, he had the satisfaction of 
seeing his eldest son, with whom, in his deep anxi- 
ety and distress for his sins, both father and mother 
had some months before spent the greater part of one 
whole night in prayer, publicly consecrating himself 
to the service of Christ by uniting with his visible 
church. 

The following letter shows that such a pleasure 
was soon renewed. 



TO HIS PARENTS. 161 

"New-York, December 14, 1830. 

11 My Dear Parents, — I have now the satisfac- 
tion to inform you that E — =— , our only daughter, 
has publicly professed her faith in Christ, and I hope 
she may be a humble follower of him through evil 
report and through good report, and be an honor to 
the Christian name. If she has really become a 
child of God, how infinitely better than all the bless- 
ings that earth can yield. Sixteen others united with 
the church last Sabbath by profession. 

" My love and thanks to friends and neighbors for 
their kindness during my father's sickness. We are 
all of us, parents and children, nearing our long 
home ; and soon, if we are the real followers of 
Christ, we shall be at rest. Let us all prepare, and 
look, and wait for it, that the hour of our transfer 
some not unawares. 

(i Your affectionate son, 

"H. Page." 



162 LIFE OF H. PAGE. 



CHAPTER VIII. 

FROM THE COMMENCEMENT OF THE REVIVAL OP 
1831 TO HIS LAST SICKNESS EMBRACING RE- 
SULTS OF HIS SABBATH SCHOOL, HIS SUPERIN- 
TENDENCE OF CHRISTIAN EFFORT CONNECTED 
WITH TRACT DISTRIBUTION, AND THE TRANS- 
FER OF HIS LABORS TO A NEW CHURCH. 

" New-York, January 24, 1831. 

(To Rev. A. K., Ohio.) 

u My dear Brother, — The Lord appears now 
to be coming down in all parts of this great city, to 
arouse his children and to awaken sinners. Thou- 
sands of Christians here, are, I think, praying as 
they never prayed before. Public general meetings 
commenced yesterday afternoon, and are to be con- 
tinued through the week. Conversions are occurring 
in all parts of the city. Churches and ministers of 
different denominations are beginning to awake. 
Meetings for inquiry were held in several churches 
on Monday evening, and were very encouraging. 
Stout-hearted men are brought to bow, as well as 
youth and children. We tremble lest, by our unfaith- 
fulness or other sins, we shall impede the work, and 
grieve the Spirit of God. Churches are daily 
crowded to overflowing; and a most fixed and 



SIGNAL REVIVAL. 163 

solemn attention is given to the dispensation of the 
truth. 

li Your affectionate brother, H. Page." 

" New-York, Tuesday, February 1, 1831. 

" My dear Parents, — Though brother S will 

tell you much from us, yet I cannot forego the pri- 
vilege of giving you some notice, with my own hand, 
of what God is doing here. His children are 
awaking — many are giving up their former hope — 
thousands, I think, are wrestling for the general de- 
scent of the Holy Spirit. Prayer meetings at day- 
break are held in various parts of the city, where 
Christians seem to agonize for the blessing. Minis- 
ters are seeing eye to eye. Meetings are crowded, and 
awfully solemn. They were held daily last week, 
and they commence again to day. Sinners are awa- 
kened, and many have been converted. I have heard 
from several inquiry meetings held last evening. 
They were full, and there were a number of cases 
of hopeful conversion. The severe storm did not 
prevent attendance. We are expecting, my dear pa- 
rents, that God is about in a signal manner to shake 
this whole city, and to Him shall be all the glory. 

" One year ago, had we been told of what we even 
now see, we should have said, * If God should open 
the windows of heaven, can such a thing be V Two 
of the teachers of my Sabbath school, brothers, 
were hopefully converted the past week, and several 
of the scholars are deeply impressed. 



164 LIFE OF H. PAGE. 

11 A case occurred last week of special encourage* 
ment to praying parents. At the close of the after- 
noon exercises, a meeting for religious inquirers 
was held in the Lecture-room, and a few professors, 
who lived at a distance, staid in the church till the 
evening service. Among them were two mothers, 
who, though strangers to each other, agreed to go 
to a retired pew, and spend the season in prayer. 
As the question arose what they should pray for, 
one said, ' I have a daughter who has no hope.' 
The other replied, ' So have I an only daughter, and 
she is now in the inquiry meeting, and we will pray 
for them.' They kneeled, and while they were still 
praying, one of the daughters came, found her 
mother, and as soon as she could do it without in- 
errupting her, took her by the hand, saying, ' O, 
my mother, I hope I have found Christ to be pre- 
cious.' They all knelt again in prayer, and offered 
their united thanksgiving to God. The other daugh- 
ter ^was hopefully converted on the following day.* 

" Several very interesting cases have occurred, but 
I cannot communicate them now. We expect God 
will do great things among us this week. 

" Do beg my dear friends at Coventry to let all 
their energies be awake ; for we trust the kingdom 



* A note, dated March 7, says, " Both of these daughters 
were yesterday, as I have understood, to be united to the two 
churches of which their parents are members." 



REVIVAL OF 1831. 165 

of heaven is at hand. Let them " prepare the way " 
of the Lord, that no stumbling blocks hinder the con- 
version of sinners. My love to all who love the 
Lord Jesus. 

" Your affectionate son, H. Page." 

Mr. A R , then Agent of the American 

Tract Society at Boston, acknowledges a letter from 
Mr. Page, dated February 28, of which he says : 

" The facts it contained, showing the efficacy of 
prayer and the power of Divine grace manifested in 
me conversion of so many in one family, are truly 
striking, and exceedingly encouraging to Christians. 
[ read the letter in our church on Sabbath evening. 
This evening Rev. Mr. G.'s church will hear the 
same ; and I intend to have extracts read in all our 
churches. That letter, I ardently believe, will be in- 
strumental of good among us." 

In a letter, dated, Sabbath evening, April 3, he 
says : " This day has been one of unusual interest 
in our church. Our pastor was never more direct 
and earnest in his appeals. He seemed to have aid 
from on high. Text in the morning, ' Go thy way 
for this time.' His object was to show that sinners 
feel that it depends on their own choice whether 
they will accept of Christ. P. M. * Their feet shall 
slide in due time.' The assembly was solemn, and 
the appeal urgent and powerful. This evening, the 
meeting has also been crowded and very solemn." 



166 LIFE OF H. PAGE. 

It is truly a painful fact, that this is all that re- 
mains from the brother's pen, of his labors, prayers, 
and success, during by far the most signal revival 
of religion ever enjoyed in New- York ; and as the 
fruits of which, there was an accession to Evangel- 
ical churches of about two thousand souls. His 
whole soul was on fire from week to week. Be- 
sides the routine of his official duties, he attended 
the prayer-meetings at day-break ; visited many in- 
dividuals at intervals during the day, introducing at 
once the subject of religion, making a short prayer 
with them, and giving them the instruction he 
thought best adapted to their state ; almost every 
evening he was in a religious meeting, and general- 
ly expending all the powers of his mind and heart 
for the eternal welfare of some individuals he there 
met ; the spiritual welfare of his own children and 
household, and of more than two hundred teachers 
and scholars in his Sabbath school, pressed upon 
his heart ; and the full measure of his powers was 
employed, that, while the Holy Spirit was descend- 
ing, not a sheaf of the spiritual harvest should be 
lost. His mind and his movements were rapid. 
The chain of communication from his own to other's 
hearts was bright. His feelings were thrown out 
into a prayer meeting, or a Sabbath school, or in 
visiting families or individuals, almost instantane- 
ously, as soon as his lips were opened; he accom* 
plished very much in the space of a day ; and in 



FAILURE OF HEALTH. 167 

the ardor of his efforts, while having a spirit of 
prayer, and seeing the displays of divine grace, it 
was impossible for him coolly to sit down and cal- 
culate whether his strength of body could long 
endure the continual drafts made upon it. A few 
days hence might be the season for relaxing his 
endeavors; but now was the season of effort, and 
that now was, with him, almost perpetual. 

As the warm season approached, and brought with 
it accumulated labors for the society he served, he 
found that his incessant effort had exceeded his bodily 
strength, and occasioned a renewed inaction of the 
liver, accompanied by a slight bleeding at the lungs, 
which nothing but repose could restore, and which 
for several weeks confined him chiefly to his room. 
In this state of health, he felt compelled, on May 
14, to tender his resignation as superintendent of the 
Sabbath school, to the duties of which station he 
had consecrated his vigorous and persevering efforts 
for nearly five years, and with the most encouraging 
success. 

Among the means of usefulness in this sphere, 
he had formed a Sabbath School Temperance So- 
ciety, though he had no knowledge that such an ex- 
periment had then been made ; and he had at length 
the pleasure to have enrolled the names of thirty-two 
teachers, and one hundred and eighty male pupils, 
as subscribers to the temperance pledge. 

Finding that many of the boys were profane, 



168 LIFE OF H. PAGE. 

he also made assiduous endeavors to correct that 
evil ; frequently calling on all to give testimony, by 
rising, whether they had sworn during the week, 
and using all possible means to induce them to re- 
verence the name of God. His report on this subject 
states, that, whereas three fourths of the boys had 
formerly been profane, he had reason to believe that 
only a few hardened individuals persisted in the sin. 

The sins of lying and of Sabbath-breaking among 
them, he also labored perseveringly to correct ; and 
frequently held meetings of such as were serious, 
at his own house, for conversation and prayer. Es- 
pecially did the religious welfare of the teachers, 
many of whom, in the earlier part of his connection 
with the school, were not pious, engage his ar- 
dent endeavors ; and during the period that he act- 
ed as superintendent, thirty-two male teachers hope- 
fully embraced Christ, and united with the church, 
nine of whom have entered on a course preparatory 
to the ministry. Another teacher, (Mr. R. O. D.) 
whose heart was knit with his in this labor of love, 
is now a preacher of the Gospel, and has consecra- 
ted himself to the work of a missionary in India. 

Though devoting his efforts more immediately as 
superintendent of the large male Sabbath school, 
the female school was also under his general su- 
pervision. In a communication to the female teach- 
ers at the time of his resignation, he says : u I would 
gratefully acknowledge the loving kindness of our 



VISITS COVENTRY. 169 

God, in permitting me to be associated so long with 
such a band of Christ's friends ; and allowing me 
to witness the hopeful turning to him of from fifty 
to sixty, or more teachers, connected with our two 
schools, and several of the scholars, all of whom 
I hope to meet at last in the great assembly of the 
redeemed in heaven." 

As soon as he so far regained his health that he 
could leave the city, he repaired to Coventry ; where 
he spent several weeks of rest from every effort be- 
yond the degree of exercise on horseback and other- 
wise, which was essential to his most rapid restoration. 

During this season of relaxation, he amused him- 
self by drawing sketches of various scenes in the 
place of his nativity, among which he did not omit 
the humble dwelling where he had spent near 
thirty-four years of his life, and where, at the period 
of his death, his aged parents still resided. The 
sketch is a fac-simile of the house, the joiner's shop 
and the surrounding objects. After his return to 
New- York, at the request of one who had often 
attended the meetings in the societies' houses, he 
copied it into her album ; and as the claims of poetry 
were alike unheeded by both, he threw underneath 
it the following lines : 

" Here, a child, I sinned and strayed ; 
11 Here, the Savior disobeyed ; 
" Here, I felt his chast'ning rod ; 
" Here, I trust, returned to God." 
15 



170 LIFE OF H. PAGE. 

In reference to his illness, he wrote to Mrs. Page: 
" We have great occasion to speak of the goodness 
of God to us. We have hardly, as yet, been called 
to ' run with the footmen.' Let us see to it, that we 
secure a divine helper to sustain us when called to 
1 contend with horses,' and meet the * swellings of 
Jordan. 5 " 

A letter to a relative, October 11, contains the 
following passage : 

" Has M indeed done all he can do ? Let 

him then fall at the feet of Jesus, and tell Him so. 
Let him tell Him, that he would love Him, that he 
would submit to Him, that he would be sorry for his 
sins, that he would be an obedient child ; but he can- 
not O how unwilling the sinner is to confess all 
the guilt which the word of God imputes to him, and 
to acknowledge himself justly condemned.' 7 

In December, his eldest son, who had for five 
years been associated with him in labors for the 
Tract Society, having expressed a desire to study 
with a view to the ministry, he placed him in the 
Manual Labor Department of an Academy in Mas- 
sachusetts ; accompanying his farewell with the 
following paternal counsel : 

" New-York, December, 1831. 
"My dear Son, — As you have now entered on 
a very important period of life, and are about to be 



COUNSEL TO A SON. 171 

separated from home, you will gratefully receive a 
few hints from your affectionate father. 

" Let it be your first object (for without this all 
other acquirements will be in vain) to be a humble, 
holy, consistent Christian, till death shall separate 
you from all earthly scenes and responsibilities. 

" By uniform kindness and propriety of deport- 
ment, endeavor to merit the love and respect of 
all. Never indulge a spirit of retaliation. Yield 
a cheerful obedience to the requisitions of your 
instructers ; join no combinations for resisting au- 
thority ; and mingle with no companions whose 
reputation you would not wish to share. 

" Be careful of your health, if you would accom- 
plish any thing of moment for yourself or the world ; 
govern your appetite ; have regular hours for sleep 
and exercise. Do not place too much confidence in 
a vigorous constitution ; it will not long be trifled 
with, with impunity. 

" The Bible should be your daily text-book ; and 
according to the request of your mother, endeavor 
also to read every day a portion of Baxter's Saints' 
Rest, or some kindred author, and to form your life 
by such models. If your studies will permit, always 
have some useful book in a regular course of 
reading. 

" In your religious duties, as in every thing else, 
system will be necessary. Let nothing prevent 
your holding communion with God, on your knees 



172 LIFE OF H. PAGE. 

in your closet, at least twice every day. Meditate 
there, as well as read and pray. Daily prayer with 
your room-mate should be maintained, if agreeable 
to him ; but let not this be made a substitute for 
closet prayer. Unite yourself with a select circle 
for social prayer and the cultivation of devotional 
feelings, and take part in the exercises when re- 
quested. In hearing preaching, guard against a 
spirit of criticism. Let the Sabbath be to you a 
holy day. Remember it as God would have you. 

" Keep constantly in mind, that the object of your 
education is to prepare you to do the greatest possi- 
ble good ; and try to be useful every day. Think 
much of Christ, and commit your all to him. Go 
on, my son ; aim to be eminently holy and eminent- 
ly useful ; and may the Holy Spirit guide and cheer 
and bless you. 

" Make confidants of your parents. None will 
sympathize with you like them. They will soon 
sleep in the dust. While they live, give them the 
consolation to believe that your heart is set on being 
and doing good ; and should you survive them, act 
and feel as you know they would have desired, and 
as God will approve. And when we all meet at the 
great day, may they and the universe see that you 
have not lived in vain. 

" Your affectionate Father." 

Having resigned the superintendence of the Sab- 



EFFORT FOR INDIVIDUALS 173 

bath school, he labored, as he regained his health, to 
promote its interests by visiting to obtain scholars ; 
and about the beginning of the year 1832, com- 
menced instructing a Female B'^ Jo . Class ; and also 
yielded to earnest solicitations h\ assuming the su- 
perintendence of the system of Christian effort in 
connection with Tract distribution in the Fourteenth 
Ward, containing not far from three thousand fami- 
lies, in which work he had the co-operation of thirty- 
six male and female distributers or Tract Mission- 
aries. 

They had not long pursued this enterprise, when 
he clearly saw that, as little more was done than to 
present a Tract monthly to each family, there was no 
such direct, faithful, personal and persevering effort 
and wrestling prayer for particular individuals, as 
ciuty to God and the souls of men demanded. At 
the meeting of his fellow-laborers in January, he 
therefore laid the subject solemnly and earnestly be- 
fore them, depicting the spiritual wants of the ward; 
the condition of hundreds of families who absented 
themselves from the stated means of grace, and who, 
unless reached by their efforts, would probably never 
have the offers of salvation pressed on their atten- 
tion. He urged their obligations to God and the 
souls of the perishing; and then inquired of each 
distributer, whether there were not in his district, 
some one or more individuals, for whom he felt that 
there was special encouragement to labor, and to 



174 LIFE OF H. PAGE. 

whose salvation he would direct his own devoted ef- 
forts and prayers, till he should have evidence of 
conversion, or that the door of useful access was 
closed. It was made a subject of prayer and heart- 
searching with each distributer, till one fixed his 
mind on one individual, another on two, and another 
on three or more, and by the thirty-six distributers 
eighty-eight individuals were thus selected as special 
objects of their prayers and affectionate endeavors for 
their salvation. 

This gave them, as will be readily conceived, a 
new impulse in their work. They saw a distinct ob- 
ject before them, important as eternity, and yet one in 
which they could do nothing without the marvel- 
lous displays of Divine grace. They went to the 
throne of mercy. They went to the objects of their 
affectionate solicitude, and their mouths were filled 
with arguments. Access was easy. The Spirit of 
God seemed to have gone before them, and to go 
with them. 

His duties as Superintendent did not prevent him 
from taking a portion of this work regularly upon 
himself. An instance of the encouragement he met, 
is recorded in the following letter. 

" New-York, June 21, 1832. 

(To Mrs. Page.) 

14 Last evening I closed up our efforts in the Tract 



VISIT TO A FAMILY. 175 

distribution for this month, and gave in my report. 
A few hours before the meeting, I found that a dis- 
trict of seventy-eight families had not been supplied; 
and to complete the distribution for the ward, under- 
took to supply it myself. I found several, whose 
minds were very tender, and on whom the truth 
seemed to make a deep impression. A young man 
and his wife listened with fixed and trembling atten- 
tion, as I conversed with them on the subject of their 
own personal salvation. Two pious females residing 
in the house, soon joined the little circle, and we all 
knelt and endeavored to commit their case to Him 
who is able and willing to save. It was a solemn 
season, and our Divine Redeemer seemed to mani- 
fest his special presence. 

11 This morning I called on them again, I found 
both of them apparently trusting in the Savior. They 
hoped they had surrendered themselves to Him on 
the preceding evening. They had opened to each 
other freely the feelings of their hearts ; and had that 
morning erected the family altar, and were now de- 
termined to live together as fellow-heirs of the grace 
of life. 

" The husband of the woman who was thought 
last month to give evidence of conversion, is now 
also rejoicing with her, and they appear to be walk- 
ing together in wisdom's paths. 

•' Your very affectionate husband, 

" H. Page." 



176 LIFE OF H. PAGE. 

During the prevalence of cholera in the city, in 
the summer of 1832, which at one period removed 
more than one hundred souls daily to eternity, we 
find Mr. Page, not merely confiding himself and fa- 
mily to the care of Providence, but laboring to im- 
prove the tenderness and concern existing in many, 
for their eternal good. 

" An unusual solemnity and readiness for religious 
conversation," he says, " has prevailed; and not a 
few, while the pestilence has been raging around 
them, have been deeply affected in view of their con- 
dition as sinners. Most Christians, who have re- 
mained in the city, have exhibited a delightful trust 
in Christ as their all -sufficient refuge. Frequent oc- 
casions have offered, and been improved, for faithful 
conversation and prayer with those who were not 
accustomed to pray ; and I cannot but hope that the 
efforts of this season will result in the salvation of 
some precious souls. The Tract on Cholera has 
been distributed throughout the city, and almost uni- 
versally received with thankfulness." 

A memorandum bearing date February 7, 1833, 
contains the names si fifty -nine individuals obtained 
by Mr. Page from the square in which he lived, as 
sutscribers to the temperance pledge. 

An illness of some weeks occasioned the two fol- 
lowing communications : 



TO TRACT LABORERS. 177 

ik New-York, February 18, 1833, 

(To the Tract Missionaries of the Fourteenth Ward.) 

" My dear Friends and Fellow-Laborers, — 
For several weeks unforeseen Providences have pre- 
vented my co-operating with you as fully as I had 
intended; and I much regret that I am unable to 
meet you this evening. As I have not the satisfac- 
tion of seeing you all at our regular meetings, I had 
determined to visit you at your own flaxes of abode, 
that Xie might quicken and encourage each other, 
and Unite in imploring the blessing of God on our 
great and responsible work j but hitherto the Lord 
has prevented me. 

" Now, my dear friends, as you value the immor- 
tal soul, and the favor of our Divine Leader, I would 
urge upon every one of you to enter on your duties 
with new zeal, new hopes, and new confidence in 
God. Endeavor to fix in your mind what it is to live 
for ever in heaven, or in hell. How many, who are 
living in utter neglect of God and are reached by no 
other means of grace, must be left to perish, if you 
are not faithful to them ! How many, if you do your 
duty, may you meet at last on Mount Zion, who 
shall bless God for ever, that you found them, when 
lost and wandering from Him. 

" Fix it in your mind that you must not be satis- 
fied, unless, through your agency, sinners are 
brought to repentance ; nor rest, till you see each of 



178 LIFE OF H. PAGE. 

your districts as a well-watered garden, and the revi- 
ving and saving influences of God's Spirit operating 
in every family. I know that in some districts there 
are many things discouraging; but you must adopt 
the language of Paul : ' I can do all things, through 
Christ which strengthened me.' 

" I do not think it Christian wisdom to expend all 
our strength on the darkest part of our respective 
fields ; there is soil which we may cultivate with 
the fairest prospect of success ; and while each of us 
has so large a field, let us labor principally where 
there is the greatest encouragement, and there be 
faithful and persevering. 

" As all our strength comes from God, I would 
propose that, in our morning and evening devotions 
every day for one week, we pray in concert for the 
outpouring of the Spirit on the families of the Four- 
teenth Ward ; and I wish you would express your 
determination on this subject by a vote at your 
meeting. 

'* The Lord be with you, my dear friends, in all 
your labors, and give you many souls as your hire. 
Remember your superintendent, that he may be fitted 
for his work, have bodily strength, and be endued 
with wisdom from above. 

" Your affectionate fellow-laborer, H. Page.'' 

" Sabbath, March 8, 1833. 
" To the Female Bible Class. — My dear 



TO BIBLE CLASS. 1/9 

Friends, — This is the fourth Sabbath that, in the 
providence of God, I have been deprived of the privi- 
lege of meeting you ; but I have not forgotten }'ou, 
and I trust you remember some of those things to 
which your attention was called while I was with 
you. 

44 In looking over my list of members, I find that 
ten of your number, as far as I know, are still in the 
dark way to eternal death ; having none of the hopes 
and consolations of the Gospel, and no title to the 
kingdom of heaven. 

44 The object of this note is especially to urge you, 
in view of the alarming progress you have already 
made in sin, and of the dreadful end of all the un- 
godly, this day deliberately to make up your minds 
that henceforth you 4 will serve the Lord.' Be blind 
and deaf to all the attractions, frowns, or reproaches 
of a gay and deceitful world ; and resolutely set your 
faces toward heaven. 

44 My friends, you must not deny me — me, did I 
say 1 you must not deny Christ, who came 4 to seek 
and to save' such lost sinners as you and I. He 
entreats you, he bids you forsake all and follow him. 

44 Here, my friends, though I cannot speak to you 
face to face, are the feelings of my heart. When 
we next meet, whether in tnis or another world, let 
me rejoice with you as having chosen that good part 
which shall never be taken from you. 

Your affectionate friend, H. Page." 



180 



LIFE OF H. PAGE* 



New-York, March 13, 1833, 
* My dear Parents, — I am pained to hear by 
Mr. G. that you are so feeble, and that life seems so 
fast wasting away. As I may not have another op- 
portunity of addressing you both this side the grave, 
I would inquire how the dark valley appears as you 
approach it. 

" How does my dear mother feel under the dis- 
tressing pains of her disease? Can she patiently 
and submissively say, * It is the Lord, let him do 
what seemeth him good?' Is she comforted with 
the reflection, that he ' doth not afflict willingly, nor 
grieve the children of men V Can she lean on that 
almighty arm which sustains all God's children in 
the last conflict ? Many, while enduring intense suf- 
fering of body, and about to take their departure, 
have found that 

* Jesus can make a dying bed 
6 Feel soft as downy pillows are. 

In his hands, my dear mother, I leave you j and 
though I may not again speak to you face to face 
here, I hope that after a little while we shall meet 
where pain and sorrow and sin are known no more 
for ever. 

"And now, my dear father, as flesh and heart 
fail, I trust God is ' the strength of your heart ;' and 
that your hope in Him, through Christ, is steadfast. 
I know that to the impenitent sinner the near ap- 



IMPAIRED HEALTH. 181 

proach of death and eternity is an unwelcome theme , 
but not so to the saint. It is his delight to think 
and speak about home — that home, which Christ 
has gone to prepare ; and though you and my dear 
mother may have almost finished your journey here, 
I hope neither of you regret that its end is so near ; 
but that you can wait calmly and patiently till your 
change come, and then commit yourselves to Him 
who will safety bear you through the billows of death. 

" It is trying to me, that I cannot be with you ; 
but at present it is impracticable. I have been for 
some weeks confined at home by impaired health. 

The Lord has been gently correcting us. C 

has had a violent attack of fever, and sister P 

has left us, we trust, for a better world. But I feel 
assured that God has sent these chastisements in 
mercy, and hope they will bring us all nearer to 
himself. The family send love, and wiay we all 
meet at last in the kingdom of our Redeemer. 

" Your affectionate son, 

" Harlan Page." 

"New-York, March 18, 1833. 
" My dear Son, — I have been able to be at the 
Tract housQ but two days since early in February. 
My complaint commenced with chills, fever and 
cough, occasioned by a congested state of the livei , 
but by copious bleeding and other remedies the 
cough is removed, and I am now nearly restored. 
16 



182 LIFE OF H. PAGE. 

" I beseech you, my dear son, to remember, that 
you live in a day when all God's children must har- 
ness themselves for the great work cf the Lord. Let 
no delusive claims of earth gf»in a hold upon your 
affections. Go continually, ss a humble, penitent sin- 
ner, to Christ, and live for God and eternity. 
: " The state of things in our church is more than 
commonly interesting. Nearly fifty attended the in- 
quiry meeting last evening. 

" Your affectionate father, H. Page." 

May 30, he says : " W F departed this 

life yesterday, and his brother G is almost gone. 

Their tender-hearted father said to me, that he had 
rather bury them both in a day, and have all his an- 
ticipations of their speedily entering the ministry cut 
off, than to see one of them twenty-four years of age 
in health but impenitent." 

During the remainder of the spring, and the sea- 
son of anniversaries, he was constantly pressed with 
business at the Depository ; and early in the sum- 
mer made a short visit to his parents for the last time, 

August 9, he says, " I do hope that some spiritual 
life may be restored to the Christians of our church 
and city. I think there are some faint indications of 
pulsation with a few, though hardly perceptible. 
Sometimes I think I have evidence of the presence 
of God; but alas, it is so indistinct that I hardly 
dare believe it to be true." 



DAY OF FASTING. 183 

Again he says : " We have had an interesting 
church prayer-meeting- this evening spent in con- 
versing with the members. We have sadly declined, 
and some are beginning to feel it. 

" I am now so pressed with business on all sides, 
that I can hardly find time to write even a few 
lines." 

In December, he says, " Those engaged in Tract 
labors throughout the city have just observed a day 
of fasting and prayer. The meetings were full and 
solemn, morning and afternoon ; and in the even- 
ing a sermon was preached from, l Ye are the salt 
of the earth,' showing that every Christian should 
make his influence individually and directly felt 
for the salvation of those around him. We have com- 
menced meetings again in the bindery of the Bible 
house. On Friday evening about eighty were pre- 
sent, and a deep solemnity was apparent." 

" Saturday evening, January 25, 1 834. 

"My dear Parents, — The Lord has in great 
kindness thus far preserved our health the present 
winter, for which I know we are not sufficiently 
thankful. There is an uncommon interest in religion 
in several of the churches, in some of which it is 
hoped from thirty to sixty have been converted to 
God. 

u Monday morning, 27th. Since the above date, 
we have passed through scenes which will never be 



184 LIFE OF H. PAGE. 

effaced from my memory. On Saturday evomng, 

C and A returned from meeting about nine. 

Nothing was said, and all were seated, when A 

broke the silence by sobbing in great distress for her 
soul. The Holy Spirit had set her sins in order be- 
fore her, and she was troubled. We all felt that this 
invisible and blessed Agent was present ; and only 
C. could restrain his tears. I asked the sobbing 
child what was the cause of her distress. She re- 
plied, that she was a great sinner against God. I 
endeavored to present Christ clearly to her mind as 
the Savior of sinners, and show her her duty to 
humble herself at his feet, and yield herself without 
delay wholly to Him. We all knelt and committed 
her case to God with strong crying and tears. It 
was hard to cease pleading till we had evidence 
that she had surrendered herself to Christ. But 
there seemed a reluctance to yield up all for him. 
After further conversation and prayer, Mrs. Page 
and myself retired to our chamber, where we again 
plead for her and the other children before God, and 
committed ourselves to rest. 

" About one o'clock, A came to our bed-side 

saying : * I hope I have given my heart to Christ. I 
have been a very naughty girl. Do forgive me. I 
will love you now, and try to do as you wish to 
have me.' 

" On Sabbath morning, W was alarmed in 

view of his sins. When he came from church at 



BRAINERD CHURCH." 185 

noon, he was overwhelmed. The family were all in 
tears. We all fell on our knees and spent an hour 

in prayer, W still sobbing and begging for 

mercy. 

" These scenes affected C . The most solemn 

attention to the concerns of their souls was mani- 
fested by him and W at the meetings in the 

afternoon and evening, and during the remainder of 
the day ; and now both are hoping in Christ, and 
seem resolved to serve him alone. I hope for them 
with trembling. Time will determine whether the 
work is genuine. God grant that they may not be 
deceived. It will be wonderful grace indeed, if these 
three children, from eleven to twelve years old, have 
all been born again ; but it is such grace as God in 
Christ can bestow. My dear parents, pray that the 
work of grace in them, and in all of us, may be such 
as shall stand the test of the final day. 

" Your affectionate son, 

"H. Page." 

About this time an urgent application was made 
to him to unite in forming and sustaining the Brai- 
nerd Church in a very destitute part of the city. 
He felt the force of the request ; for he had well 
considered the moral desolations of the city, and 
prayed and wept over them. To his mind no duty 
was clearer or more important, than that members of 
the older churches, filled to a great extent with pro- 



186 LIFE OF H. PAGE. 

fessors of religion, should separate, as fields of use 
fulness open, and go out to form new circles of reli- 
gious influence. And if it was the duty of some, 
and others did not enlist in the enterprise, why 
should he not go himself? True, his health was 
already enfeebled, and the additional labor might 
crush him; but he was not accustomed to spare 
himself, and made the sacrifice, as iie believed, at 
the call of duty. 

This transfer of his field of labor made it necessa- 
ry that he should resign the superintendence of the 
Tract distribution in the fourteenth ward, which he 
did on the 12th of February; "having felt," as he 
said, " more and more fully convinced of the complete- 
ness of the plan of the Tract Mission, if but faith- 
fully carried out by praying, self-denying and de- 
voted Christians. 1,1 

In a scrap, which he seems to have prepared as a 
memorandum for an address to Tract distributers or 
missionaries, perhaps on their day of fasting and 
prayer in December, 1833, the following facts appear: 

From March, 1829, to January, 1832, only font 
cases of conversion were reported from the fourteenth 
ward, three of which were by a blessing on the read- 
ing of Tracts. Little more was done than to present 
them from door to door ; spiritual life was wanting; 
and the laborers were becoming disheartened. 

Of the eighty-eight individuals for whose salvation 
the distributers, in January, 1832, resolved steadfast- 



CHEERING RESULTS. 187 

ly to pray and labor, more than thirty were reported 
in February, as at least in some degree anxious for 
their souls ; and three of the number as rejoicing in 
God ; in March, four ; in April, six ; in May, three ; 
in June, six ; and twelve in the subsequent months ; 
making in all thirty-four hopeful conversions from 
that ward within the year 1832. Of this number 
three or four were awakened by reading the Tracts, 
and others apparently by means of the prayers and 
exhortations of the distributers. Many of the poor 
and afflicted people of God, forsaken by the world, 
had been found and comforted ; some backsliders re- 
claimed ; and the Gospel message delivered to num- 
bers who continued to disregard it. Many interesting 
instances of the blessing of God on these efforts are 
alluded 10 in the memorandum ; and it is stated, 
that almost all of them are the cases of individuals 
who were scarcely reached by any other means of 
grace. 

The separation from the church with which he had 
been for eight years so happily and usefully connect- 
ed, was indeed trying ; but he went to the new field 
of labor with the prayers and kindest wishes and 
sympathies of his brethren. 

" All the time he was with us," says the pastor, 
" he was a man of kind and peaceful spirit ; always 
grieved at dissension in the churches, and laboring 
to promote a spirit of love. 

44 He was always prompt in action. What he un- 



188 LIFE OF H. PAGE. 

dertoOr£, we knew would be done, and well done ; 
and he was ready to any work to which the great 
Master called him — not shrinking from self-denial, 
nor asking to be excused. In our meetings of reli- 
gious inquiry, he was a safe and. faithful laborer. 
Often would he seem to fix his heart intensely on 
the salvation of some individual; and as he saw the 
prospect of good, would labor with him till the hour 
was gone, and then accompany him to his home, 
still toiling to remove obstacles from the mind and 
bring him to accept of Christ. 
h " Many souls here owe their salvation, under God, 
to his faithful and persevering labors: — in the pray- 
er-meeting ; in the Sabbath school ; in the Bible 
class ; and especially to his personal conversation 
and guidance in the Christian course. His eye was 
single. He had one definite object before him : it 
was not fame, or family, or ease, or pleasure — but 
to honor Christ in the salvation of men. This single* 
ness of purpose made him skillful and prompt in 
adopting means, and was the grand secret of his 
success. 

" He left us to go to a new and unbroken field, 
where the toil of gathering a church was all to be 
borne anew ; but he felt that he was consecrated, not 
to one particular church, but to Christ ; and must 
go, and that cheerfully, at his bidding. With four 
such Aarons and Hurs to hold up his hands and 
co-operate with him, any faithful and qualified min- 



FAILURE OF HEALTH. 189 

ister would be strong, under the blessing of God, 
for building up a new church." 

As a means of furthering the new enterprise, Mr. 
Page again assumed the responsibilities of Superin 
tendent of the Sabbath school ; and put forth his de- 
voted energies to bring the Gospel, by all practical 
means, to bear effectually on the surrounding po- 
pulation, old and young. His labors for the Tract 
Society were undiminished ; and it was scarcely to 
be expected, that the constant pressure of his varied 
and ceaseless efforts, and the exhausting excitement 
of mind continually connected with them, should not 
bring back that derangement of the vital organs 
from which he had repeatedly suffered. Under 
date of March 25, he thus writes to his parents : 

' ; These tabernacles of clay are wearing down, 
and will soon be demolished. How little should we 
depend upon them. If we are God's children, we 
have in prospect a more glorious body, where all is 
filled with the fullness of God. Let us look much 
to it, and patiently wait for it." 

His strength was sustained till the results of the 
year in his department were prepared for the Annu- 
al Report, and the immediate pressure of the anni- 
versary season had subsided, when he found him- 
self exhausted ; was obliged to remit his exertions ; 

Jo / 

and at the advice of his physician, spent several days 
at Saratoga Springs, but with no improvement to his 
health. He returned to the city, and gradually de- 



190 LIFE OF H. PAGE. 

clined till about the first of August, when it became 
apparent to himself and others, that his earthly la- 
bors, except from his dying bed, were closed. 

A brief letter to his son, June 4th, concludes thus : 

" Now I have done. Let no good resolutions be 

forgotten, or neglected. Remember — remember — 

duty God Christ Judgment Heaven 

Hell. 

" Your affectionate father, H. Page." 

To his daughter, he wrote from Troy, June 23, 
on his return from the Springs : " I trust I had some 
special consolation last evening, in committing my- 
self, my family, and all our concerns, into the hands 
of that Redeemer whose long suffering and mercy 
are without measure. He is doing with us what 
is infinitely best ; and we should not desire him to 
change his mode of discipline in any of its details." 

Two days later he writes : " I have for some time 
been depressed in body and spirit ; have felt many 
anxieties and solicitudes, and had but little commu- 
nion with God. I think, however, that within a few 
days I have had a satisfaction in resigning all my 
concerns to the disposal of Him, who, I am confi- 
dent will pursue the best possible course of disci- 
pline, though often demanding strong faith, when the 
reasons of his dispensations are so entirely conceal- 
ed. In order to be ripened for heaven, I need a 
great deal of purification by the Holy Spirit." 



BRAINERD CHURCH. 191 

Of his labors in connection with the Brainerd 
Church, the young clergyman who commenced re- 
ligious worship there, says : " His influence, while 
the Lord continued him with us, was excellent. He 
was alvmys engaged — always spiritual. His zeal 
seemed to suffer no declension : it savored of the 
closet, of self-communion, of heaven. He had a won- 
derful tact in conducting our prayer-meetings and 
making them interesting: always diversified, and 
yet always "solerfm. His remarks, though simple, 
were never common-place. The 'point and spirit of 
them appeared to have been premeditated, and they 
were generally well adapted to the character and 
condition of those present. In superintending the 
Sabbath school, he would in a remarkable degree fix 
the attention of the children. He had also a happy 
talent for addressing strangers on the subject of per- 
sonal religion ; and after our meetings would almost 
always single out some individual, and engage in 
close personal conversation. Several persons were 
in this way brought under conviction of sin, and 
some will have reason to bless God to eternity for 
his persevering faithfulness. His loss we feel deeply. 
He loved those with whom he had here been labor- 
ing, and prayed for us on his dying bed. Our mem- 
bers were very much attached to him, and constantly 
and fervently prayed that his life might be spared, 
could it be consistent with the Divine will." 

The last item of business to which he gave the 



192 LIFE OF H. PAGE. 

least attention, was to look at the annexed sketch of 
one of the scenes of the labors of David Brainerd. 
He had visited the spot, and drawn the sketch, and 

Dr. A , having engraved it on wood, called to 

present it, and see if it had his approbation. 

** 1 will look at it, but I have done with every- 
thing here." 

" You can cast your eye upon it now, and look at 
it again perhaps when you are stronger." 

" No ; I shall never look at it afuin/ My work 
here is all done" 



CHARACTER OF HIS EFFORTS. 193 



CHAPTER IX. 



PROMINENT CHARACTERISTICS OF HIS EFFORTS 
FOR THE SALVATION OF MEN. 

It may not be unimportant to bring together some 
of the characteristics of his efforts to honor Christ in 
the salvation of individuals, as illustrated in the pre- 
ceding history. 

It was the burden of his heart, and the purpose of 
his life. When engaged in his usual business, the 
religious welfare of persons with whose state he had 
become acquainted, was generally pressing on his 
mind ; and it is now known, that for several years 
before he died he almost always had by him a me- 
morandum of the names and residence of a few indi- 
viduals with whom he was to converse. On these he 
would call, as he went to and from his office, or re- 
ligious meetings ; and if no names icere on this list, 
he felt that he was doing little good. He also uni- 
formly had in his hat more or less awakening tracts, 
that he might present as he should judge them 
adapted to the state of those he met. Not unfrequent- 
ly he would seize a few moments from his usual oc- 
cupation, to go out and address some individual ; and 
when the business of the day was closed, he hastened 
17 



194 LIFE OF H. PAG£. 

to some meeting or other religious engagement for 
the evening. It is believed that an entire month has 
frequently elapsed, during which he did not sit down 
for an hour, even in the bosom of his own family, tc 
relax his mind, or rest. Every evidence of good ac- 
complished gave him new joy; and every opening 
for usefulness added a new impulse to his efforts. 
He felt that, under God, the eternal joy or wo of im- 
mortal souls depended on his fidelity. Each evening 
and each hour brought its duties, which he felt could 
not be neglected or postponed. The present duty 
was still before him ; and though " faint," he was still 
" pursuing." His labors on the Sabbath were not less 
exhausting than on other days; and he doubtless 
thus failed of obtaining that " compensation for toil," 
which the animal constitution requires, and which is 
essential to a long life. 

When urged, at the close of a day of fatigue, to 
spare himself and spend the evening at home, he 
would say, " Don't attempt to persuade me away from 
duty. I have motive enough within myself to tempt 
me to enjoy repose with my family ; but that will 
not save souls." A little previous to his last sickness, 
as he returned from church coughing, he was asked 
if he had not spoken too much in the Sabbath 
school: "perhaps I have," ho replied; "but how. 
could I help it, when all eyes were fixed, and the 
children seemed to devour every word I said ?" 

It was not uncommon, at different periods of his 



CHARACTER OF HIS EFFORTS. 195 

life, for him in sleep to imagine himself addressing 
the impenitent; and to wake in a high state of ex- 
citement and in tears, occasioned by the deep sym- 
pathy he felt for their perishing condition. It is also 
known, that, when he saw no manifestations of the 
outpouring of the Holy Spirit, he would be, at times, 
in deep distress ; would wrestle more abundantly in 
prayer, renew his efforts to arouse Christians to duty 
and awaken the impenitent ; and more or less con- 
versions were almost always the result. 

In short, it was not the great object of his spiritual 
life, himself to be happy in religion ; but rather by 
persevering labors and holy self-denial — like the 
Apostle who testified that he died daily — to glorify 
God in winning souls to him. He ardently desired 
to devote the whole undivided efforts of his life to 
this work, and nothing but the duty of providing for 
the support of his family prevented it. 

He had the most clear view of the necessity to 
tvery man of being born again. As soon as an indi- 
vidual came into his presence, it seemed to be the 
first question of his mind, " Is this a friend or an 
enemy of God ?" The next thing was, if impenitent, 
to do something for his conversion ; or if a Chris- 
tian, to encourage him in duty. Whatever else he 
saw in an individual, he felt that it availed him no- 
thing unless he had received Christ to his heart by 
a living faith. This he felt and urged to be the sin- 
ner's first, great, and only duty in which he could 



196 LIFE OF H. FAGE 

be acceptable to God. This was exemplified at a 
meeting of his Sabbath school teachers, when he 
called on each to know whether he thought he had 
a well grounded hope in Christ, or not ; and record- 
ed their several replies. Among them was an amia- 
ble young merchant, whom he highly respected, and 
who seemed not far from the kingdom of God. 

" Have you a hope ?" he tenderly inquired. 

" No, Sir," was the reply. 

" Then I'm to put down your name as having no 
hope?" 

" Yes, Sir." 

" Well, I write down your name as having no 
hope." 

The young man pondered on this decision and re- 
cord of his spiritual state ; was troubled, and soon 
came to our brother, saying, " I told you to put me 
down as having no hope; but I can't say that." He 
is now a member of the church, and a decided sup- 
porter of all her institutions. 

He brought his efforts to bear upon individuals, 
and followed up impressions made. All the triumphs 
of the Gospel, he knew, consist in the conversion and 
sanctification of individuals ; and he was not satis- 
fied with merely praying and contributing for the 
salvation of the world as a whole ; or having a ge- 
neral impression made on the minds of a congrega- 
tion. His intense desire was that individuals should 
be turned from sin to God. Not unfrequently he 



CHARACTER OF HIS EFFORTS. 197 

would observe in the congregation a person unknown 
to him, who seemed to give solemn attention to di 
vine truth ; ascertain who he was, and seek a per 
sonal interview ; and in all cases, if he left an in- 
dividual to-day in an interesting state of mind, he 
would endeavor to see him again to-morrow ; and 
follow up the impression at brief intervals, till there 
was no longer encouragement, or he had evidence of 
true conversion. 

He had a clear sense of obligation, both in the 
sinner to repent, and in the Christian to devote all 
his powers to God. He felt, and labored to make 
others feel, that if any one neglected duty, the guilt 
was all his own ; that God was ever ready to receive 
the returning prodigal ; and that if any withheld 
their hearts, or aught they possessed from him, in 
the day of judgment they would be speechless. This 
sense of obligation he urged with unabating fervor. 
His heart was intent that it should be felt, and iw- 
mediately carried out in an entire consecration to 
God. 

"Brother," said he to a lovely Christian who 
watched with him, "when you meet impenitent sin- 
ners, don't merely say calmly : ' Friend, you are in 
danger;' but approach them with a holy violence, and 
labor to ■ pull them out of the fire.' They are going 
to perdition. There is a heaven and a hell." 

As a brother from Boston to whom several of his 

letters were addressed, had called for a few moments, 
17 * 



198 LIFE OF H. PAGE. 

and was about taking leave, he asked the dying 
man if he had any particular thought on his mind 
to express as he bade him farewell. " Ah, I can say 
nothing," he replied, " but what has been repeated 
over and over ; but could I raise my voice to reach 
a congregation of sinners, I would tell them * their 
feet shall slide in due time 7 — they 'shall slide 1 — there 
is no escape but by believing in Christ." 

He not only endeavored to alarm impenitent men, 
but to bring them to a decision that they will be the 
Lord's. 

While in his native place, he was absent one 
evening till so late an hour, that his wife remon 
strated with him for unreasonably tasking his own 
health, and separating himself from home. " I have 
spent this time," said he, " in trying to persuade your 
poor impenitent brother to give his heart to Christ." 
That impenitent brother was soon brought to accept 
of mercy ; pursued a course of theological study, 
and is now serving God in the ministry. 

On another occasion, while residing in the city of 
New- York, he had gone to a religious meeting, and 
returned late in the evening, when he was reminded 
of the danger that his protracted efforts might be 
more than he could ultimately sustain. " I have 
been standing this hour," was his reply, " at the 

corner of the street, laboring with Mr. H , (one 

of the teachers of his Sabbath school,) and trying to 
persuade him to submit to God." Within a few 



CHARACTER OF HIS EFFORTS. 199 

hours the young man found peace; soon resumed 
his studies which he had been pursuing for other 
ends ; and he is now a devoted minister of Christ, 
gathering a flourishing church in one of the princi- 
pal cities of the West. A letter from this young 
clergyman, received as these sheets were going to 
press, thus confirms this brief statement. 

u The name of brother Page will ever be associa- 
ted in my mind with all that is worthy of imitation 
in the Christian character. By the persuasions of an 
acquaintance, I was induced to engage as teacher in 
his Sabbath school ; and though I was then desti- 
tute of faith, he welcomed me, and won my confi- 
dence and love. Very soon he began to address me 
with the utmost apparent tenderness and anxiety in 
reference to my own salvation. His words sunk deep 
into my heart. They were strange words ; for 
though I had lived among professors of religion, he 
was the first who for nine or ten years had taken me 
by the hand, and kindly asked, \ Are you a Chris- 
tian V ' Do you intend to be a Christian V ' Why not 
now? 1 Each succeeding Sabbath brought him to 
me with anxious inquiries after my soul's health. 
On the third or fourth Sabbath, he gave me the Tract 
* Way to be Saved,' which deepened my impressions. 
At his request, I also attended a teacher's prayer 
meeting conducted by him, where my soul was bowed 
down and groaned under the load of my guilt. At 
the close of the meeting, Mr. Page took my arm as 



200 LIFE OP H. PAGE. 

we proceeded on our way to our respective homes, 
and urged upon me the duty and privilege of an 
immediate surrender of my heart to Christ. As wo 
were about to part, he held my hand, and at the 
corner of the street, in a wintry night, stood pleading 
with me to repent of sin and submit to God. I re- 
turned to my home, and for the first time in many 
years bowed my knees in my chamber before God ; 
and entered into a solemn covenant to serve him 
henceforth in and through the Gospel of his Son. 
God was pleased, I trust, by his Holy Spirit, to seal 
my vows. If I have since had any Christian joy, 
or done any thing to advance the cause of Christ, it 
is to be attributed to the Divine blessing on the faith- 
fulness of brother Page." 

He expected success from God, through the bless- 
ing of the Holy Spirit in answer to prayer. He felt 
that humble, self-denying effort, made in God's 
strength, he would own and bless ; but that for this 
he would be "inquired of" by his people. He 
loved prayer. Besides prayers at social meet- 
ings, with the families and individuals he visited ; 
and on special occasions, frequently recurring, he, 
regularly, not only conducted family worship, ac- 
companied by singing, but every morning and even- 
ing prayed with his companion as they retired and 
rose, and also poured out his heart to God alone in 
the closet. For the latter duty, when in his native 
place, he often retired to a consecrated spot in a 



CHARACTER OF HIS EFFORTS. 201 

grove near his father's house. If one of the house- 
hold were about to take a journey, the family assem- 
bled and commended each other to God, which was 
frequently done on other occasions of special interest. 

His prayers were usually short and fervent, and 
confined mainly to those topics which pressed with 
special force upon his mind. At all times, prayer 
seemed to be a privilege, and the throne of grace a 
resting-place, and a solace to his heart. There is no 
doubt that it was by continual and fervent prayer, 
that he imbibed that glowing sense of eternal things, 
that love to souls, and that heavenly unction, which 
were at once the spring of his fidelity, and, under 
God, the ground of his success. 

So anxious was he that there should be more 
prayer in the churches ; and such were his hopes, 
that, if the duty were properly presented, it would 
be felt and practiced, that he united with a brother 
whose means were as limited as his own, in paying 
fifty dollars as a premium for a tract on prayer — 
himself drawing out minutely various hints to guide 
those who might write ; and it was by this means 
that the excellent Tract, (No. 271,) on the obliga- 
tions, nature, benefits, and occasions of prayer, was 
procured. 

In his mind there was no jarring conflict between 
perfect obligation on the part of man, and perfect 
dependence in his relations to God. He knew both 
were revealed, momentous, eternal truths; and left 



202 LIFE OF H. PAGE. 

all embarrassing questions of their consistency to be 
settled by God himself. It was enough, to hear God 
speak, and to obey, He prayed as if all the efficien- 
cy and praise were God's, and labored as if duty 
were all his own. His sense of dependence threw 
him on his knees, and his sense of duty summoned 
him to effort ; and prayer and effort, and effort and 
prayer were the business of his life. Blessed day to 
the church, when this endless source of contention 
and controversy shall thus be settled in every Chris- 
tian's heart ! 

He was uniform and unwearied. I know not who 
has made or heard the charge of inconsistency in his 
Christian character. Those who knew him best, 
best knew how supreme in his heart was the busi- 
ness of glorifying God in the salvation of men. I 
have well considered the assertion when I say, that, 
during nine years in which we were associated in 
labors, I do not know that I ever passed an inter- 
view with him long enough to have any interchange 
of thought and feeling, in which I did not receive 
from him an impulse heavenward — an impulse on- 
ward in duty to God and the souls of men. No as- 
sembly, even of professed Christians, from which the 
spirituality of religion was excluded, whether met 
for social enjoyment, or in furtherance of some bene- 
volent design, received his countenance ; nor was he 
satisfied with what too justly seemed the strange 
anomaly of excluding Christ from the hours of so- 



CHARACTER OF HIS EFFORTS. £03 

cial intercourse, and. then, as it were atoning for the 
sin, by closing the interview with prayer. 

The only remaining particular which it seems 
important now to mention, is his fruitfulness in 

DEVISING EXPEDIENTS FOR DOING GOOD. Of this 

point the history of his life is but an exemplification. 

As the father of a family ) he labored for the spi- 
ritual welfare of all his household, especially for the 
early conversion of his children. Of thirteen indi- 
viduals, who resided in his family at different times 
in the city of New- York, twelve became deeply 
anxious for their salvation. One of these was a 
Roman Catholic, whose attention to family worship 
was forbidden by her priest; one, who was hopeful- 
ly reclaimed from her backsliding, has since died ; 
and six others gave, and, so far as known, still give 
evidence of saving conversion to God. Of his fideli- 
ty to his children, the testimony contained in the 
following expression of filial gratitude from his son, 
in transmitting, by request, the letters he had receiv- 
ed from his father, will be excused, 

" In reviewing the letters I received from my fa- 
ther," he says, " I see every where an expression of 
the tenderest solicitude both for my temporal and 
eternal welfare ; and O for some of that ardent de- 
sire for the salvation of souls to bear me forward in 
duty, which impelled him onward, till he ceas- 
ed his toils on earth, and entered on his rest in 
heaven. 



204 LIFE OF H. PAGE. 

41 1 cannot refrain from bearing testimony to my 
father's fidelity to my own soul. Well do I remem- 
ber his endeavors in my early childhood to lead me 
to the Savior — his prayers — his entreaties — and the 
anxiety with which he followed me year after year, 
while under the paternal roof and when away, till 
he could speak to me no more. His kind voice I 
shall no longer hear. His affectionate smile of ap- 
proval, or tears shed over my waywardness, I shall 
no more see. His kind intercourse with the mem- 
bers of his family, we shall no more share. He will 
no more call us around the hallowed family altar, 
lead us in the hymn of praise and in pouring out 
the soul to God. He is in a more endeared, a hap- 
pier and holier sphere, enjoying the smiles and pre- 
sence of his God and Redeemer. Pray for me that 
I may have grace to follow his example as he fol- 
lowed Christ, and at last to unite in his songs." 

The above pages have sufficiently shown in what 
varied forms he rendered himself useful, as the 
teacher of a day school ; in the relations he sustained 
to the Sabbath school cause, and to the Tract cause ; 
in Bible classes, and in religious meetings ; to fami- 
lies and to individuals. The variety of efforts he 
made with his pen is equally striking. Not only 
did he address moving appeals to individuals ; but 
if a thought occurred which he judged to be of gen- 
eral interest, he embodied it in a few paragraphs 
and sent it for insertion in some religious paper; 



CHARACTER OF HIS EFFORTS. 205 

and even if he inserted a scrap in an album, lie im- 
proved the opportunity to direct the reader's mind 
to Christ. 

In the Temperance cause he enlisted with a whole 
heart as early as 1823; rejecting all that could in- 
toxicate, including tobacco in all its forms, and 
throwing an influence in a thousand ways to extend 
the Temperance reformation. 

Many pious young men were by him sought out 
and directed towards the Ministry. 

To the cause of Missions, both in our own and pa- 
gan lands, he was steadfastly devoted. He not only 
turned his eye away from the accumulation of pro- 
perty as the object of his life ; but felt the duty and 
claimed the blessedness to his own soul, of impart- 
ing for the cause of Christ a portion of what he had. 
On bis dying bed, he mentioned to Mrs. Page, that 
five dollars, which before his sickness he had sub- 
scribed to a benevolent object, remained unpaid. 
" We have consecrated it to God," said he, " and I 
had rather it would be paid. You had better pay it, 
and trust him." 

His familiarity with the character and religious 
bearing of all the Society's publications, and with 
the general state and wants of the community, ren- 
dered him skillful in selecting publications appro- 
priate to the different fields and circumstances for 
which they were designed ; and also in giving an im- 
pulse and a wise direction to the feelings and efforts 
18 



206 LIFE OF H. PAGE. 

of Christians who were continually calling for the 
transaction of business. 

And in all, it abundantly appears that he felt that 
the efficiency was alone with God ; and mingled 
continual prayer for the gift of gifts — the accompa- 
nying influences of the Holy Spirit. 

Is it wonderful that God should bless his ef- 
forts? That, in each church with which he stood 
connected, individuals, when relating their religious 
experience, should be heard referring to his faithful 
endeavors as the means of bringing them to Christ? 
That a revenue of souls should have been gathered 
from the place of his nativity ; thirty-two teachers be 
brought publicly to profess Christ, from one of his 
Sabbath schools, and nine of them have set their 
faces toward the Ministry ? That thirty-four souls 
should hopefully have been gathered by him and 
his fellow-laborers from one ward of the city ; and 
fifty-eight, in connection with his efforts and those 
of a few endeared associates, have been brought to 
join themselves to the people of God, from the Tract 
and Bible houses ? That individuals should come to 
his dying bed, and thank him with tears for his 
fidelity to their own souls ? Is it wonderful, that, in 
speaking to her who is now his widow, of his early 
departure, and looking back on his work on earth as 
ended, he should, with the solemnity of eternity on 
his countenance, say : " I know it is all of God's 
grace, and nothing that I have done ; but I think I 



CHARACTER OF HIS EFFORTS. 207 

have had evidence that more than one hundred souls 
have been converted to God through my own direct 
And personal instrumentality." 

Look at the influence of such a christian life on 
a large scale. Suppose every Christian labored, I 
Ao not say with such talents, but with such a heart to 
the work. Suppose there were ten such Christians in 
every evangelical church throughout our land, and 
God should equally bless their labors. How would 
they rouse their fellow Christians to duty. How 
would they search the highways and hedges, and by 
God's grace compel the ungodly to come in. How 
w r ould they instruct the rising age. How would 
they hold up the hands of faithful ministers. How 
would the Holy Spirit be shed down in answer to 
their prayers. How would their influence penetrate 
through every vein of this great community ; and 
how soon would living piety here pour its influence 
on every benighted land. Such a light as would 
then shine could not be hid. It would illumine the 
world, and Christ would come and possess the 
nations. 



208 LIFE OF H. PAGE. 



CHAPTER X. 



TRIUMPHS OF GRACE ON HIS DYING BED. 

It remains only to linger a little while with our 
brother in the chamber of death. We did not look 
to his dying bed for evidence of his good estate. 
This we had in his life. Nor have we to record 
what occurred in the hurry, and excitement, and de- 
lirium of dying. He was let down to the grave by 
a gradual process of four months ; and, contrary to 
almost all example, gave up all expectation of living 
many weeks before he left us, and while in the full 
and perfect exercise of his mental powers. 

It cannot be said, that death had to him no terrors. 
This enemy did not come and .steal him away una- 
wares ; nor were the powers of his mind blunted by 
disease, or medicine. The king of terrors presented 
himself as if he would challenge Divine grace to 
gain a victory. He showed him usefulness closed ; 
a dependent widow and children ; agonizing bodily 
pain, and his soul about to appear before God. 

His disease was in the vital organs, and a continu- 
al cough gave alarming evidence that it was seating 
itself upon the lungs. About six weeks previous to 
his death, Dr. W , one of the skillful and pious 



DYING BED. 209 

physicians who gave him their gratuitous counsel 
and aid, made a careful examination with the stethe- 
scope ; and, as a faithful friend, informed him that 
his lungs were ulcerated, and he must die. " He 
received the announcement," -says the physician, 
"calmly ; as a man who felt that it is a solemn thing 
to exchange worlds, but that he had a home in 
heaven" 

To a heart so spiritually alive, the scene before 
him was unutterably solemn and momentous. He 
wished clear evidence of his union to Christ, that 
should leave no question of his interest in him; 
and to have a constant and lively sense of his imme- 
diate presence. Nothing short of this could meet 
the urgency of his case ; and this, for some days, he 
did not attain. 

" About six weeks before his death," says a kind 
brother who called on him with a Christian friend, 
" we found him in much mental distress, He said he 
had been endeavoring to examine his past life, but it 
was all a blank. * 0, } said he, * I have done nothing 
for Christ. What an unprofitable life have I lived ! 
How can one be a Christian who has done no more 
to prevent his acquaintance, and even his own house- 
hold, from going down to hell.' We repeated to him 
a number of Scripture promises. He said they were 
precious promises, but he could not appropriate them 
to himself." 

•• A few days after," says the same brother, " we 
18* 



210 LIFE OF H. PAGE. 

called on him again ; and found that the desire of 
his heart was granted. Christ was with him ; and 
his emphatic language was, * It seems as if I never 
knew before what it was to love him.' He appeared 
to feel that he had obtained a new view of the love of 
Christ, which he was anxious to communicate for 
our benefit. * I have been following him,' he said, 
4 all along as the evangelists record his history — how 
he healed the sick — how he fed the hungry — cast 
out devils — corr?forted the sorrowful — and at last 
died for poor sinners' — (when his weeping prevent- 
ed utterance) — ' O who can help loving such a bless- 
ed Savior !' 

" ' I think I have evidence of love to Christ,' he 
soon added, 4 from another source ; I love his people. 
O how my heart goes out towards all the dear 
brethren who love Christ, and are trying to save 
poor sinners from hell. Brother A , and bro- 
ther B , and brother ; O that the Lord will 

make them more faithful, and more useful. Do, breth- 
ren,' said he to us, * be faithful to souls. It will be 
time enough to rest by and by.' " 

Again he said : " Should I go into a meeting and 
see a Christian with his eyes filled with tears, and 
his heart glowing with love to souls, pleading with 
sinners to come to Christ and live, should not I love 
him ? And when Christ comes and weeps over poor 
sinners, and says, 4 O Jerusalem, Jerusalem, how of- 
ten would I have gathered thy children together, 



DYING BSD. 211 

even as a hen gathereth her chickens under her 
wings, and ye would not!' — shan't I love him? I 
know I love that Christian brother that would feel 
so j and don't I love Christ ? I do love him. I do 
love him." 

The cloud returned no more till his spirit took its 
upward flight. 

The writer having been some time absent from the 
city, sat by his bedside alone, expecting it might be 
the last interview with him on earth, when the follow- 
ing conversation, almost word for word occurred. 

44 1 have thought a great deal of you in my ab- 
sence, brother Page ; and when I come here and 
find you so low, it is very affecting. How wonder- 
fully God is dealing with us. He has seen fit to 
take away both of my children; you are sinking; 
and your sen, by falling from an upper window, has 
very narrowly escaped death." 

44 Yes," he replied, in slow, feeble and tender 
tones, 44 God mingles mercies with afflictions. I want 
to thank him for preserving Cyrus' life. It is a great 
mercy." 

41 It is wonderful," I added, 44 that God often cuts 
down those who seem most needed. Brother Hunter 
is gone ; Evarts and Cornelius are gone. He makes 
great breaches on the church." 

44 O, brother H ," said he, (as if he could 

not bear the allusion to himself as having been spe- 
cially useful,) " I am nothing j and have done no- 



212 LIFE OF H. PAGE. 

thing. I'm nothing but a poor sinner. I'm a blank, 
and less than a blank. I hang on the mere merits 
of Christ." 

" Has it not been a great trial to give np your 
wife and children, and all your work here?" 

" It has been a trial to give them up ; but not my 
great trial. I wanted a clear sense of the presence 
of Christ in my heart. For some time I could not 
get a clear view of him ; and it was not till I follow- 
ed him all along from the manger to the cross, that 
I seemed to get a clear view of him as just the Sa- 
vior I need, and bring him home to my heart. I've 
given all up here. My work here is all done — its 
all done. What I want now is a sense of the pre- 
sence of Christ ; and I think he is with me, and 
sustains me." 

" I rejoice that it is so ; and may his f;race carry 
you through. I want before you die to thank you, 
brother Page, for your uniform kindness during the 
nine years we have been laboring together ; and es- 
pecially for the help you have given me in the 
spiritual life." 

"O, brother H , don't thank me. I've done 

nothing, and been nothing but a poor miserable sin- 
ner. I don't want any thanks." 

" I have always felt," I added, " that you have 
essentially aided me in the Christian course." 

" Ah, I've often felt wrong, and done wrong. I 

t\ant you, brother H ■, to forgive all you have 

seen amiss," 



DYING BED. 213 

" I have nothing to forgive. I wish rather to con- 
fess my faults to you. 

"O, don't speak of it, brother H , I've come 

short in every thing-' 7 — (bursting into a flood of tears.) 

The scene was full of instruction. I could scarcely 
avoid the impression that I was conversing with his 
spirit already purified for heaven. To see one who 
had lived such a life thus abasing himself; to see 
him shudder at the intimation that he had been spe- 
cially useful ; to hear him say, amid the solemnities 
of dying, "I am nothing, and have done nothing; 
I'm a blank, and less than a blank ; I have done 
wrong and felt wrong, and cast my soul alone on the 
blood and righteousness of Christ " — opened a new 
view of heaven ; and made me feel, that, whoever 
arrives at that blessed abode — whatever his life has 
been, however much he has labored for Christ and 
the souls of men, — will there prostrate him- 
self LOWER THAN THE DUST, AND GIVE TO GOD 
ALL, ALL THE GLORY, FOR EVER AND EVER. 

" You must feel some anxiety for your wife and 
children. I will endeavor to do what I can for 
them." 

" I don't want any promises. God will take care 
of them." 

V I have hoped, that it will be in the hearts of 
friends around us to contribute something for them." 

" It can't be expected that any thing like what 



214 LIFE OF H. PAGE. 

would f upport them could be raised. But / give ah 
that u] <." 

" I anderstand you have expressed a desire that 
your body be removed to Coventry. If so, I hope 1 
may accompany it." 

" Ah, I've no concern about this poor body. All 
will be done right about it." 

About this time, a friend from his native place vi- 
sited him ; and asking if he had any message for 
his parents and friends, he said, " Yes. 

" Tell my aged parents not to despond because 
God has taken me first ; for he will be their stay and 
support, and soon we shall meet where parting will 
, be no more. 

" Tell , that it will be hard dying without an 

interest in Christ. 

" Tell sister L , I expect soon to meet her in 

heaven. 

" Tell my former pastor, that I remember with 
gratitude the instructions received from his lips." 

On the following Sabbath, as the writer called on 
him, he said : " I wanted to have gone home to-day ; 
but they're trying to keep me here. My work here 
is all done, and I want to be with Christ." 

44 Do you not look back now with peculiar plea- 
sure on your direct personal efforts for the good of 
souls?" 

11 1 look upon personal conversation and prayer 
with individuals as among my most successful en- 



DYING BED. 215 

deawrs, and hope I have done some good. But it is 
not me. It's all of grace in Christ. There's nothing 
in me but sin. I'm nothing — nothing — less than no 
thing. Brother H , I have been a great sinner." 

44 Is it the sins of your heart that trouble you 
chiefly ?» 

" Not particularly. I've been a great sinner in my 
childhood — and youth — and all my life — the chief 
of sinners. But, 4 it is a faithful saying, and worthy 
of all acceptation, that Christ Jesus came into the 
world to save sinners.' " 

" Do you feel that it is your choice now to go ?" 

"Yes, if it is God's will." 

44 Should he please to restore you, would you 
not be willing to remain here and labor a little 
longer !" 

" O yes, I think so, if it was his will. But my 
work on earth is all done. I want now to go and be 
with Christ. Prophets, and apostles, and martyrs 
are there ; and many pious friends are there — I feel 
that I should like to meet them. Christ will be 
there ; and we shall be like him, and see him as he 
is : that will be enough." 

44 Is it not wonderful that Christians do net live in 
a nearer view of death ?" 

44 O yes ;.Fn) a wonder to myself. I didn't feel how 
short this life is." 

Some time previous to this conversation, he had 
adjusted all his earthly concerns; reviewed his will; 



216 LIFE OF H. PAGE. 

arranged his papers ; given advice respecting his fa- 
mily and his burial ; and thenceforward he seemed 
to feel that his work here was " all done," and to 
welcome nothing that did not immediately pertain to 
the exchange of worlds. The daily paper had for 
weeks been put aside as having " nothing of Christ 
in it," though not without expressing his belief that 
ere long the daily papers shall carry to their readers 
messages of salvation ; and when his family were 
reading to him from religious papers, he would 
sometimes stop them, saying, " Is there any thing 
there for a dying man % If so, read it." 

He relished nothing but what w r a« eminently spi- 
ritual ; and regretted that he had not treasured more 
of the Bible in his memory. The twenty -third Psalm 
and the last chapter of the Revelation were very 
precious to him. At one time he said, " Do read me 
a spiritual hymn, or something from the Bible: I'm 
starving." Again, as a clergyman came in, he said, 
" Do look out some hymns that express a great deal 
of heaven. Many of the hymns seem tame. They 
are pretty poetry, but do not present the joys of re- 
demption and the glory of Christ. When 1 have a 
clear view of Christ, my fears vanish, and I can trust 
myself wholly in his hands." 

It was remarked by those most familiar at his 
bedside, that not one impenitent acquaintance visited 
him, whom he did not seem to have warned. The 
tenor of his language to them was: " I have said all 



DYING BED. 217 

[ can say. I can now add nothing new. My work 
here is all done." 

Finding that his life was continued longer than he 
expected, he said : " I thought my work was done ; 
but I find it is not. I must strive to urge Christians 
and sinners to duty from this dying bed." 

As two brethren of the church from which he had 
recently separated himself came in, he said : " You 
will allow me to speak freely as a dying man. Are 
the dear brethren of the church awake ? Are they 
laboring for souls ? If I were to be raised up from 
this dying bed, would you not feel that 2" ought to be 
faithful ? And is the duty less yours than it would be 
mine , ? " 

More than once he said, " The millennium will 
never come until Christians are more awake to duty." 
And again, " O for a holy Ministry ! a Ministry de- 
voted to the salvation of souls ! I can't bear to have 
so much time wasted in controversy. If all would 
devote themselves to the salvation of souls, how many 
might be saved from eternal burnings." 

The principal of a large female school coming in, 
he entreated, her to be faithful to the souls of her pu- 
pils ; and urged the momentous consequences, should 
they be converted to God. She was much affected, 
and begged him to pray for her, when he imme- 
diately offered a short, appropriate pcayer for her 
and all committed to her charge. 

He observed that the number of the impenitent who 
19 



218 LIFE OF H, PAGE. 

visited him was comparatively small ; and when one 
with whom he had conversed, retired, he said, " O 
how the impenitent dread a dying bed !"- 

As a Christian friend, on seeing him so much re- 
duced, expressed his regret that he left the church 
with which he had been so long connected, for the 
new enterprise, he said : " There were motives pres- 
sing upon me that I could not resist. I felt that one 
at least of the officers of that church ought to go ; 
and hard as it was to tear myself away from the dear 
brethren, I do not regret it. There are some pray- 
ing souls there, and I feel that God will bless their 
efforts for that destitute part of the city." 

His utterance in disturbed sleep continually in- 
dicated what the burden of his life had been. Gene- 
rally, it was prayer, or an appeal to Christians, or 
the impenitent. 

" No more pain — no more sin" (was once 

his unconscious utterance.) " Lord, reveal thyself to 
us. Show us thy glory." 

At another time he exclaimed with great earnest- 
ness : u Dear brethren ! where are you ? where are 
you ? Are you in the light of God's countenance? 
Are you in the light of the Sun of Righteousness V* 

Again, as if he were addressing the impenitent: 
" ' Note is the accepted time ; note is the day of salva- 
tion/ O why will you not turn and give your hearts 
to God % Why will you go down to hell T 

Again he said, with melting tenderness, as if some 



DYING BED. 219 

effort of his had been unavailing : " Poor girl ! she 
has rejected her Savior, and her soul must be lost." 

The visit of J H T , his fellow- 
laborer in the Tract and Bible houses, was pecu- 
liarly gratifying. He greeted him on being so near 
home ; they conversed on the dealings of the Lord 
with them, and the glories of eternity ; and bade one 
another farewell for a little while, till they should 
meet again never to separate. 

Again he said : " A death-bed is a precious place, 
when we have the presence of Christ — then to wake 
to a glorious immortality. God does not send one 
unnecessary affliction." 

Again : " I feel as if I had got half-way home. I 
cannot bear to stop. It would be a pity to have the 
flesh return on these limbs again." 

Perhaps sacred music was never a source of 
more spiritual benefit or enjoyment in the chamber 
of sickness and death. For some years he led the 
devotions of the sanctuary, and in his earlier days 
was accustomed to play on the bass-viol and the flute. 
In his latter years, he made singing strictly a devo- 
tional exercise : a point, the practical bearing of 
which on the Christian life cannot be too much 
urged. He used it as such at social meetings, and 
uniformly made it a part of family worship. Provi- 
dence kindly so ordered it, that Mr. F. a Christian 
brother, accustomed to lead choirs in the city, resi- 
ded near, who, to his love of music, joined a tender 



220 LIFE OF H. PAGE. 

sympathy with the sick and dying. At the request 
of Mr. Page he sung a few appropriate selections; 
and finding they were as a precious balm to his 
heart, tendered his services to come in daily and as 
often as he desired. The impression made upon the 
mind of the dying man was so strong, that he would 
anticipate his return with great interest. " I expect 
Mr. F. soon," he would say to his family, " and I 
want you all to be here." When he arrived, he 
would inquire for each absent member, unwilling 
that the singing should commence till all were pre- 
sent ; and then anxious that all should join in the 
praises of the Most High. After singing-one day, 
he said : " How sweet — and if the music of earth is 
so sweet, what must be the music of heaven, where 
all the heavenly hosts unite their voices — ten thou 
sand upon ten thousand !" 

The beautiful hymns, " Rock of Ages," and " My 
Faith Looks up to Thee," as set to music in the 
" Spiritual Songs," took precedence of all others. 
The music of the first was composed by Mr. Hast- 
ings, of New- York, and of the other by Mr. L. Ma- 
son, of Boston, who have consented to their insertion 
here, as it may be gratifying to some readers, and 
perhaps be the means of adding consolation to some 
other departing friend. 



SACRED MUSIC. 
OLIVET. 



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Thou Lamb of Calvary ; 

Savior divine ! 
Now hear me while I pray ; 
Take all my guilt away ; 
O let me from this day 

Be wholly thine. 

May thy rich grace impart 
Strength to my fainting heart, 

My zeal inspire ; 
As thou hast died for me, 
O may my love to thee, 
Pure, warm, and changeless be, 

A livin fire. 



While life's dark maze I tread, 
And gnefs around me spread 

Be thou my guide ; 
Bid darkness turn to day, 
Wipe sorrow's tears away, 
Nor let me ever stray 

From thee uside 

When ends life's transient dream 
When death's cold sullen stream 

Shall o'er me roll : 
Blest Savior, then in love, 
Fear and distrust remove ; 
O bear me safe above— 

A ransom'd soul. 



222 



LIFE OF H. PAGE. 



ROCK OF AGES. 



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Let me hide myself in thee; 
Let the water and the blood, 
From thy wounded side that flow'd. 
Be of sin the perfect, cure, 
Save me, Lord, and make me pure 

Should my tears for ever flow; 
Should my zeal no languor know ; 
This for sin could not atone ; 
Thou must save, and thou alone. 



In my hand no price I bring ; 
Simply to thy cross I cling. 



While I draw this fleeting breath. 
When mine eyelids close in death. 
When I rise, to worlds unknown, 
And behold thee on thy throne—- 
Rock of Ages, clnftfor me, 
Lit me hide myself in thee. 



DYING BED. 223 

The hymn beginning " How sweet the name of 
Jesus sounds," as set to music in the same work, 
was also peculiarly precious to him, and one that he 
often repeated. At one time he asked for the read- 
ing of the hymn, "When languor and disease in- 
vade," &c. and as the fifth verse was read, said 
with emphasis, " Yes, 

" Sweet to lie passive in his hands, 
" And know no will but his." 

On one occasion, as they were singing from the 
17th Psalm, beginning with the words, 

" What sinners value I resign, 

" he repeated the verses," says one who was present, 
M with a tone and animation more than earthly: 

*•' ' Lord, 'tis enough that Thou art mine : 

" ' I shall behold thy blissful face, 

" { And stand complete in righteousness.' " 

11 As he repeated the 5th verse, with inexpressi- 
ble ardor and solemnity, we felt almost that we were 
already transported to those blissful regions: 

,„ O GLORIOUS HOUR ! BLEST ABODE ! 

" ' / shall be near, and like my Goi>.' " 

" I wonder," he said, " that singing is not more 
used around the bed of the sick. It seems to me 
admirably adapted to cheer and comfort them." 



224 LIFE OF H. PAGE. 

" He expressed an earnest desire that all his fa- 
mily should learn to sing. " Then," said he, " you 
can have a little heaven here below." 

Again he said : " O how can the churches be eo 
indifferent to the praises of the sanctuary — the very 
employment of heaven ! how can Christians sing so 
little in their families — it is the beginning of hea- 
ven — it is heaven on earth." 

As he was apparently slumbering, his infant son 
struck the strings of a bass viol that stood in the 
room — " My little son," said he, " is that you ? Do 
thai again. Pa loves to hear that." 

On hearing an organ as it passed in the street he 
said: " That sounds sweet. I am becoming very 
fond of instrumental music : I suppose there will 
be a good deal of it from the golden harps of heaven." 

At one time, with much effort, he sung the line, 
" Rise, my soul, and stretch thy wings;" but not 
having strength to proceed, stopped, saying, " 
when shall I go home ? How long must I be bur- 
dened with this body ! The Lord knows how much 
suffering I need to prepare me for his kingdom." 

" In all his sickness, he exhibited surprising ten- 
derness of spirit. Fie could not bear the thought 
that there were any Christians who did not love 
one another, and who were not engaged in the ser- 
vice of Christ. If he had manifested the least 
impatience, he would pray God to forgive him ; beg 
his wife to forgive him ; and often express his gra- 



DYING BED 225 

titude for the kindness he received, in the most 
affecting* manner. Frequently he wept in view of 
the long continued and gratuitous attentions of his 
stated physician* (Dr. J. C. B.) As he had been 
ministering to his necessities one day, and had led 
in prayer, and retired, he said with tears: "How 
good to have some one to carry you up into heaven \ n 
adding, after a pause, " When I think of his prolong- 
ed and unwearied kindness to us, my heart swells 
with emotions which I cannot utter." 

He was continually endeavoring to relieve the 
sorrows of those around him. When he saw her 
weeping, who was soon to be a widow, he summon- 
ed his utmost efforts, and urged his most ardent sup- 
plications to God, that she might have Divine con- 
solation ; and when he found that she had yielded 
the point, and given him, and herself, and her chil- 
dren, and her all away to God, to be disposed of ac- 
cording to his pleasure, he expressed great joy and 
gratitude. " God will take care of you," said he, "I 
am sure of it. Only trust in God, and he will pro- 
vide for you. His promises to the widow and the 
fatherless are precious. The Bible is full of them." 

His tender dread of sin continued to the last. A 
dear Christian friend says, he regards the night he 
watched with him, as one of the most privileged sea- 
sons of his life. They had many short and delightful 
interviews. Towards morning he spoke very seri- 
ously : " Have you seen any thing, brother, in wh^h 



226 LIFE OF H. PAGE. 

you think I have sinned to-night ?" " Nothing in 
particular," was the reply. "Twice," added the faith- 
ful affectionate brother, " you spoke of the pain oc- 
casioned by your labored respiration, and perhaps 
expressed a little impatience." He immediately lifted 
up his tearful eye to God, and offered an earnest 
prayer, that he might he purified from all sin. 

After violent coughing, he said, " My children, 
you see this is suffering. It is for sin" 

At another time he said : " The Bible speaks of 
perfection. I feel no perfection. I am all sin. Christ 
is perfect, and his blood cleanseth from all sin." 

Again he said, "Sometimes I so/ earnestly desire 
to depart, I feel as though I could not wait ; but I 
want you to persuade me not to feel so. I fear it is 
wrong." 

Equally undiminished was his sense of his unwor- 
thiness. As one, now a brother in the church, had 
wept at his bedside, and thanked him for his faithful 
efforts in arresting him in his downward course of 
sin, he said : "I know not what to do with such 
scenes — there's a great deal too much ascribed to 
man." 

His eldest son having been absent, he expressed a 
great desire to see him before he died ; and when he 
arrived, clasped him for many minutes in his wither- 
ed arms, and bestowed upon him a father's richest 
counsels and blessing. This had been, for some 
time, the only remaining earthly favor he had had 

c 



DYING COUNSELS. 227 

to request. He wished to have all his children once 
more together, and to give them his dying counsels 

A few days before he died, after a paroxysm of 
coughing, he said : " I was in hopes to depart ; but 
1 must wait a little longer. How long probably be- 
fore another ulcer will fill ? O, when shall I awake 
in Thy likeness!" 

Again he repeated the words, "Home! home!" 
and prayed : " O for a free and full discharge. Lord 
Jesus, come quickly. Why wait thy chariot wheels 
so long? I dedicate myself to thee. O may I have 
the victory. O come quickly. Come, Lord Jesus, 
come quickly." 

A little before his death, as all his family were 
around him, after a short prayer, in weakness and 
want of breath that rendered utterance scarcely pos- 
sible, he addressed a word to each. " I want you 
all," said he, " to be a bundle of love." 

To Mrs. Page. " Though a thousand miles apart, 
you may be serving God here — and I in heaven. } 

To his eldest son. " I want you should be a 
holy man — -an active, living Christian." 

To his daughter. " Stand fast. Be steadfast in 
the faith. Wander not from God. Be wholly his." 

To a younger son. " O be a Christian indeed, 
my son." 

To the infant. " Love God. Learn what he is — 
what heaven is." 

To a niece. "I have been committing all my 



LIFE OF H. PAGE. 

family to God. Love God. Pray to him daily." 
Then he prayed: " I thank thee for suffering. I 
deserve it. How much I deserved death — eternal 
death! Deliver me from a long series ol sufferings, 
if consistent ; but I submit. Let me not complain 
nor dictate. Remember thine handmaiden. Re- 
member her in her trials. Thou knowest the sup- 
ports she needs — grant them fully. May she be 
willing to commit me to thy hands. " Bless this 
daughter, and all these children, and all their con- 
cerns. I COMMIT MYSELF TO THEE, JESUS* SAVIOR 
OF SINNERS. O THE INFINITE LOVE OF CHRIST ! 
i MAY STOP MY MOUTH, AND LIE IN THE DUST." 

This is the legacy he left to a lonely widow, and 
four fatherless children. 

This his testimony to the matchless grace of God, 
abounding, through Christ, to one who had no 
merits of his own. 

This his moving persuasive to every child of God 
to abound in duty. 

This his voice of warning and entreaty to rebel 
sinners, saying, " Be ye reconciled to God." 



ANECDOTE. 229 

The mercy and kindness of a covenant God, to 
whom he committed his family with such implicit 
trust, claims here to be recorded in the fact, that 
soon after his death, a few christian friends assem- 
bled, and commenced a subscription for the benefit 
of the widow and children, which was raised to 
$2,000. As the subject was mentioned to a pious 
mechanic, he said, with the tear standing in his eye: 
44 1 want to give something. Here are ten dollars. 
Eut for Mr. Page, I should probably have sunk into 
a miserable eternity." He was asked to relate the 
circumstances, and thus replied. 

44 On New Year's day, 1827 or 8, which was Mon- 
day, I reflected that I had never attended a monthly 
concert of prayer in this city, and determined that for 
once I would go. I went early, found only the sex- 
ton in the room, and sat down. Soon there came in 
a plain man, who spoke very pleasantly to the sex- 
ton, and then coming and sitting by my side, after a 
kind salutation, said : " I trust you love the Savior ?" 
The question instantly filled my eyes with tears. 1 
had been preached to, at arms' length, all my days 
in New- Hampshire ; but this was the first time in 
my life that ever a Chustian thus kindly and direct- 
ly put such a question to my heart. We conversed 
considerably together, in the course of which, at his 
request, I gave him my name and residence. The 
next day he came into my shop, and brought me the 
Tract "Way to be Saved." which he thought I 



230 LIFE OF H. PAGE. 

should like to read. He called again and again. 1 
became interested in him, and the next Sabbath 
joined his Sabbath school ; was brought, as I hope, 
to Christ, and soon united with the church.'"' 

The body of Mr. Page, according to a suggestion 
above, was removed to Coventry, his native place, 
and over his grave a marble slab bears the follow- 
ing epitaph : 

"3hx l&emorg of 
"HARLAN PAGE, 

U FOR NINE YEARS DEPOSITARY OF THE 
" American Tract Society, 

" WHO DIED AT NEW- YORK, 

" September 23, 1834, 

" IN THE TRIUMPH OF FAITH, 

"Aged 43. 

u He { ceased not to warn every one night 
u and day with tears, 1 " 



END 



